FEARS that humans had caught foot-and-mouth diminished last night after a farm worker feared to have fallen victim to the virus appeared to have been given the all-clear.
Paul Stamper, 33, was splashed with fluid from a slaughtered cow as he helped move carcasses at a farm in Cumbria, earlier this month.
He developed symptoms including painful blisters in his mouth.
But Agriculture Minister Nick Brown indicated that Mr Stamper had been given the all-clear.
He said: "I am delighted he has been given the all-clear, otherwise this could have had serious implications for his future employment."
Thirteen more cases of foot-and-mouth among animals were confirmed by officials yesterday, 12 in Cumbria and one in Wales.
Mr Brown said that the crisis was likely to be the last straw for some farmers.
But he promised the Government would stand by farmers and make sure it came up with a recovery programme.
His comments came after a survey by Farmers Weekly magazinesuggested that more than one in three of the farmers affected by foot-and-mouth planned to scale down their businesses, while another six per cent planned to quit the industry.
A survey of more than 500 people revealed how the public's perception of farmers had become more positive since the epidemic began.
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