Britain checks research labs after disease outbreak

LONDON (Reuters) - British authorities investigating an outbreak of highly infectious foot and mouth disease sealed off and searched two research laboratories on Sunday located just miles from where a herd of cattle was infected. 

While there was no confirmation the sites were the source of the infection, both of the high-security labs -- one run by the government's Institute for Animal Health and the other by a pharmaceutical company called Merial -- were placed within a 10-km radius exclusion zone as inspectors moved in.