First tests negative in German foot-and-mouth scare

First tests on sheep at a Bavarian farm where animals showed symptoms of foot-and-mouth diseased have proved negative.

The farm at Vilsbiberg, 55 miles north-east of Munich, was sealed off on Friday.

An employee had recently travelled to Britain.

Blood samples from 60 of the 1,300 sheep were sent to a federal lab for testing.

On Thursday authorities in the western state of Hesse ruled out foot-and-mouth in suspect sheep from a hobby farm that were destroyed as a precaution this week.

Final test results on sheep from two other sites in the state are pending, though in one case first results have already come up negative.