Foot-and-Mouth Disease: Slovakia Extends Border Closure with Hungary

At its meeting on Wednesday, the Slovak government adopted a decree to extend border controls approved at the beginning of April, following the outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease. Under the decision, small border crossings on the section with Hungary and Austria will remain closed until July, reports Új Szó.

The Slovak government’s decree on border controls was originally due to expire on May 7, but the Interior Ministry has concluded that the situation still does not allow for a relaxation of the measures.

Therefore, on Wednesday, the cabinet approved an extension until July 7.

“Given the continued presence of the highly contagious and rapidly spreading foot-and-mouth disease virus in cattle in several locations in Hungary that resulted in the spread of infection to Slovakia, the measures should continue to be enforced to prevent further spread,” reads the explanatory memorandum.

The Interior Ministry believes that one important tool to control the outbreak is the closure of small border crossings with Hungary. “Although the presence of foot-and-mouth disease has not yet been confirmed in Austria, given the geographical situation of the outbreak, it is necessary to control the internal borders also in this part of the country,” they added.

In practice, this means that 17 small border crossing points remain closed, 16 of which are in Hungary and one in Austria.

The foot-and-mouth disease appeared both in Slovakia and Hungary in March. Since then, a total of five cattle farms in Hungary have been identified with the virus. The animals on the affected farms were slaughtered and buried, and the National Food Chain Safety Office announced strict restrictions to curb the spread of the virus.

It has been two weeks since new infections were reported in Hungary. Consequently, Agriculture Minister István Nagy announced earlier this week that if there are no further outbreaks by the end of the month, then immunity can be announced on May 30, and the EU restrictions imposed on the country can be lifted by June 30.

Via Új Szó, Featured image: MTI/Máthé Zoltán