Last year's success is being threatened by the reappearance of foot-and-mouth disease.Continue reading
Foot-and-mouth disease has been detected on cattle farms in three municipalities in southern Slovakia. The disease has spread from Hungary to Slovakia, ma7.sk reports.
Hungarian Chief Veterinary Officer Szabolcs Pásztor announced the outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease in Hungary in early March at a cattle farm in Kisbajcs (northwestern Hungary), near the Slovak border. To prevent the spread of the disease, all the animals on the farm in Kisbajcs had to be slaughtered, about 1,400 in total.
However, on Friday last week, it emerged that the virus had also been identified in Slovakia, close to the Hungarian border, prompting the Slovak Ministry of the Interior to declare a state of emergency in the Dunajská Streda (Dunaszerdahely) District.
At the same time, the Hungarian Chief Veterinary Officer also introduced official measures following the identification of foot-and-mouth disease in Slovakia.
The outbreak has affected three farms near the Hungarian border: in Medveďov (Medve), Ňárad (Csiliznyárad) and Baka (Baka).
According to the Slovak Minister of Agriculture, Richard Takáč, the disease has not spread further so far, but the incubation period of the disease can be between 7-14 days. The current damage is estimated at around €8 million, he said, after the extraordinary cabinet meeting. The minister also noted that
Slovakia had received technical equipment from the Czech Republic to euthanize the animals, while Hungary was providing vehicles to control the outbreak,
Új Szó reports.
Slovak police are carrying out increased checks to prevent the spread of foot-and-mouth disease, the portal wrote. As part of the measure, more than 6,400 vehicles were checked over a 12-hour period from 7 a.m. on Saturday morning to Sunday afternoon, 590 of which were used to transport animals. Seven vehicles were checked that were actually transporting animals, said Zuzana Hrabovská, staff member of the Slovak police headquarters.
Officers will continue to carry out increased checks at and near designated border crossings and hotspots.
Via ma7.sk, Új Szó; Featured image: MTI/Miniszterelnöki Sajtóiroda/Benko Vivien Cher