This month’s foot-and-mouth outbreak around Egham in Surrey could have been limited to a single farm if its owner had recognised and reported symptoms of the disease, says a government report published on Monday.

Epidemiologists from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs found that Klondyke Farm, where the disease was confirmed on September 17, had been infected in mid-August, soon after the original outbreak 10 miles away at Pirbright. When scientists examined livestock slaughtered at the farm, they found “healing lesions” on the animals’ mouths and feet that were up to four weeks old.