The European Union will ban meat imports from eight counties in Argentina's northern Corrientes province, which was hit by foot-and-mouth disease, an Argentine official said on Wednesday.

Jorge Amaya, head of Argentina's National Food and Agriculture Quality and Hygiene Service, said that the EU had notified Argentina of the decision through its embassy in Brussels.

However, the EU's Food Chain and Dietary Hygiene Committee had agreed to accept all canned meat packed up till Feb. 3, even if it was from Corrientes' eight affected areas.

The trading bloc is the 24th region to suspend Argentine meat imports either partially or totally, following Ecuador's decision on Wednesday to completely ban Argentine meat.

Argentina confirmed on Feb. 8 that 70 animals were found sick with foot-and-mouth disease in a town in Corrientes, some 960 km northeast of Buenos Aires.

Since the outbreak on Feb. 4, Argentine authorities have cordoned off a 20-km area and ordered the slaughter of more than 3,000 animals in Corrientes, which borders Uruguay and Brazil.

Foot-and-mouth, which is not contagious to humans, is a highly communicable viral disease among cloven-hoofed animals like cattle, goats and sheep, causing fever and blistery lesions on the tongue, lips and hoofs of the animal. The consequences also include a reduction in the meat volume and milk production of surviving animals.

Source: Xinhua