During epidemics, animal health professionals are the defenders of the homeland

(Photo: AM/Tibor Vermes)

The Minister also greeted the professionals receiving recognition on the occasion of the upcoming national holiday. István Nagy emphasized that in animal health, as long as there are no epidemics, work goes on in silence. The general public is often not even aware of how much knowledge, discipline and perseverance maintain this invisible protection. When the disease rears its head, it becomes clear that healthy livestock and food safety are not a given, but the result of everyday, sacrificial work. This spring, the foot-and-mouth disease epidemic was like a house on fire next door. It not only deeply affected agriculture and animal husbandry, but also tested the daily lives, sense of security and vision of our communities. It also showed how interdependent we are, that we cannot handle an emergency alone, he added. He explained that hundreds of people, veterinarians, laboratory specialists, epidemiological inspectors, law enforcement officers, farmers and government officials worked tirelessly to combat the virus. Some served in protective suits on infected farms; others analyzed samples in the lab to identify the virus strain; still others protected the borders of the protection zones to prevent the disease from spreading further. In these weeks, animal health workers have been defenders of the homeland in the noblest sense of the word, for which we cannot be grateful enough, the head of the agricultural ministry emphasized.

AM