Brazil has stepped up controls along its border with Paraguay in recent days as the South American giant attempts to prevent the spread of foot-and-mouth disease from it's southern neighbour.

Paraguay declared a state of emergency in the north of the country following the detection of the disease Monday in the the San Pedro department, some 185 miles from the border with Brazil.

The outbreak is the country's second since September 2011.

Foot-and-mouth is an infectious and sometimes a fatal viral disease that affects cloven-hoofed animals and poses a major threat to Brazil, which is the world's top beef exporter.

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