Bluetongue restrictions have been extended to three more English counties as the number of sites affected by the virus continues to rise.

Nottinghamshire, together with parts of Leicestershire and Northamptonshire, have been included in a newly expanded restricted zone after two infections were confirmed along its border with Lincolnshire on Friday 4 October.

Meanwhile, the number of confirmed cases outside the restricted zone has risen to eight, after infections linked to animals moved to those areas were detected in Cornwall and North Yorkshire.

As of last Thursday (3 October), 125 premises in England and Wales had been affected by the BTV-3 outbreak since it began in late August.

Restricted zone

The vast majority lie within the restricted zone, which now covers the whole of Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, East Sussex, West Sussex, Essex, Greater London, Hertfordshire, Hull and East Yorkshire, Kent, Lincolnshire, Norfolk, Nottinghamshire, Suffolk and Surrey, plus parts of Hampshire, Leicestershire and Northamptonshire.

Defra and the APHA said the extensions had been implemented in line with their objective of “seeking to contain and slow the spread of disease”.

The latest cases outside the restricted zone – two detected in sheep in Yorkshire plus one in cattle in Cornwall – were all confirmed on Saturday and traced from separate premises in Suffolk, from which they were moved prior to implementation of the restricted zone.

Officials said the affected animals would be culled to prevent potential transmission, with regular testing to be carried out on other animals.