Government vets have "fully ruled out" a suspected foot and mouth outbreak at a Norfolk pig farm - but investigations are continuing into other possible diseases.
Officials enforced a 10km temporary control zone at a farm between Feltwell and Brandon on Thursday night as a precaution against a potential case of the devastating livestock disease.
It sparked major concerns in the agricultural industry, which suffered badly during the foot and mouth crisis in 2001, when six million farm animals were destroyed in an outbreak costing an estimated £8bn to the British economy.
But farmers expressed their "great relief" after the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) confirmed that the animals are clear of that disease - although concerns remain in the pig sector as investigations continue to find the cause of the sick animals' symptoms.
Defra said further testing is now being conducted to rule out the presence of "other vesicular diseases of pigs".
A spokesman said: “Following reports of a possible case of foot and mouth disease on a farm in Norfolk we acted swiftly to put in place restrictions on the premises and collected samples for testing.
"Testing has allowed us to fully rule out the presence of this disease. Investigations into other possible causes continue.”
The UK's chief vet Christine Middlemiss tweeted that while investigations continue, "the 10km FMD restriction zone will be replaced by a similar one applying only to pigs".
Norfolk farmer Rob Mutimer, who is chairman of the National Pig Association, said it was relief to the wider livestock industry, but concerns remained for the region's pig sector.
"It is a great relief to hear that this is not foot and mouth disease," he said.
"That is the one we all really fear, so I'm extremely pleased they have ruled that out. For the rest of agriculture, away from pigs, it does not seem to be an issue now.
"But it is another worry for the pig industry. We fully support the APHA (Animal and Plant Health Agency) and Defra in their work, and we need a bit more time to research into what this problem is."
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