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Further tests are being carried out at a Suffolk farm to determine whether any more animals have been affected by the UK's first case of bluetongue disease.
The insect-borne virus, which has killed livestock across Europe, was in a Highland cow on what is thought to be a rare breeds farm near Ipswich.
Farmers say the arrival of the disease is devastating for an industry already struggling with foot-and-mouth.
Sheep, cattle, goats and deer can be infected, but humans are not at risk.
The disease is not contagious but often leads to death in sheep.
Animals with it experience discomfort, with flu-like symptoms, and swelling and haemorrhaging in and around the mouth and nose.
They can also go lame and have difficulty eating properly.
Treatment There have been nearly 3,000 cases of bluetongue in Northern Europe - including the Netherlands, Belgium, France and Germany - since July, which had fuelled fears of its arrival in the UK.
The government's deputy chief veterinary officer, Fred Landeg, confirmed the infected cow was on a small cattle and sheep farm outside Ipswich.
The infected cow is expected to be culled as a precaution. Tests on other livestock are being conducted.
It would not be classed as an outbreak unless other cases were confirmed, Mr Landeg said.
If the virus has spread, he said, the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) would impose a 20km (12.4m) control zone around the infected farm. Defra said it was not imposing any additional movement restrictions above those currently in force due to the foot-and-mouth outbreak.
The discovery of bluetongue disease came after another case of foot-and-mouth disease was confirmed in Surrey.
On Saturday cattle on the sixth premises to test positive since the disease was first discovered in August - and the fourth in the past 11 days - were slaughtered and the protection zone extended.
Farming leaders said the discovery of bluetongue had come at a bad time for an industry already struggling with movement and export restrictions imposed because of foot-and-mouth.
Economic impact
Suffolk farmer Stephen Rash said colleagues in the county were shocked.
"It's quite rife now in Belgium and the Netherlands. We'd rather hoped that the Channel and the North Sea were going to protect us. On top of foot-and-mouth, it's another body blow to another already struggling industry."
National Farmers' Union president Peter Kendall said the bluetongue case had come as a blow to the industry but that he was hopeful that there would be no major outbreak. "I'm optimistic this can be quite an isolated localised case and going into winter these midges aren't as active as they would have been if this had happened two or three months ago."
The president of the British Veterinary Association, David Catlow, said he feared the disease may become prevalent in the UK.
"At the moment if this becomes established in the UK, as it seems to have become established in northern Europe, the only way we will really control it is when we have a vaccination, and that isn't yet available.
"We're possibly a year away before the development of some new, inactivated vaccines that will be the way ultimately to control it."
Bluetongue disease is transmitted by midges, traditionally the Culicoides imicola midge. It is passed from animal to midge, and from midge to animal, but is not transmitted from animal to animal.
The virus has long blighted Africa, but in recent years has begun to spread northwards into Europe.
Lasting effects
Some scientists believe that climate change could be behind its spread, as warmer temperatures have seen the biting insects gradually move north.
Once infected, up to 70% of a flock of sheep can die from the virus. While infected animals can recover - and become immune - productivity is reduced with milk yields in dairy herds dropping by about 40%. Prime Minister Gordon Brown was briefed after arriving in Bournemouth for the Labour Party conference, and the BBC's Carole Walker said he was prepared to chair a meeting of the emergency committee Cobra on Sunday if an outbreak was confirmed.
The insect-borne virus, which has killed livestock across Europe, was in a Highland cow on what is thought to be a rare breeds farm near Ipswich.
Farmers say the arrival of the disease is devastating for an industry already struggling with foot-and-mouth.
Sheep, cattle, goats and deer can be infected, but humans are not at risk.
The disease is not contagious but often leads to death in sheep.
Animals with it experience discomfort, with flu-like symptoms, and swelling and haemorrhaging in and around the mouth and nose.
They can also go lame and have difficulty eating properly.
Treatment There have been nearly 3,000 cases of bluetongue in Northern Europe - including the Netherlands, Belgium, France and Germany - since July, which had fuelled fears of its arrival in the UK.
The government's deputy chief veterinary officer, Fred Landeg, confirmed the infected cow was on a small cattle and sheep farm outside Ipswich.
The infected cow is expected to be culled as a precaution. Tests on other livestock are being conducted.
It would not be classed as an outbreak unless other cases were confirmed, Mr Landeg said.
If the virus has spread, he said, the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) would impose a 20km (12.4m) control zone around the infected farm. Defra said it was not imposing any additional movement restrictions above those currently in force due to the foot-and-mouth outbreak.
The discovery of bluetongue disease came after another case of foot-and-mouth disease was confirmed in Surrey.
On Saturday cattle on the sixth premises to test positive since the disease was first discovered in August - and the fourth in the past 11 days - were slaughtered and the protection zone extended.
Farming leaders said the discovery of bluetongue had come at a bad time for an industry already struggling with movement and export restrictions imposed because of foot-and-mouth.
Economic impact
Suffolk farmer Stephen Rash said colleagues in the county were shocked.
"It's quite rife now in Belgium and the Netherlands. We'd rather hoped that the Channel and the North Sea were going to protect us. On top of foot-and-mouth, it's another body blow to another already struggling industry."
National Farmers' Union president Peter Kendall said the bluetongue case had come as a blow to the industry but that he was hopeful that there would be no major outbreak. "I'm optimistic this can be quite an isolated localised case and going into winter these midges aren't as active as they would have been if this had happened two or three months ago."
The president of the British Veterinary Association, David Catlow, said he feared the disease may become prevalent in the UK.
"At the moment if this becomes established in the UK, as it seems to have become established in northern Europe, the only way we will really control it is when we have a vaccination, and that isn't yet available.
"We're possibly a year away before the development of some new, inactivated vaccines that will be the way ultimately to control it."
Bluetongue disease is transmitted by midges, traditionally the Culicoides imicola midge. It is passed from animal to midge, and from midge to animal, but is not transmitted from animal to animal.
The virus has long blighted Africa, but in recent years has begun to spread northwards into Europe.
Lasting effects
Some scientists believe that climate change could be behind its spread, as warmer temperatures have seen the biting insects gradually move north.
Once infected, up to 70% of a flock of sheep can die from the virus. While infected animals can recover - and become immune - productivity is reduced with milk yields in dairy herds dropping by about 40%. Prime Minister Gordon Brown was briefed after arriving in Bournemouth for the Labour Party conference, and the BBC's Carole Walker said he was prepared to chair a meeting of the emergency committee Cobra on Sunday if an outbreak was confirmed.
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