István Nagy: full force of protection against foot-and-mouth disease in Győr-Moson-Sopron County

(Photo: Pixabay)

The Minister said that there is still no new outbreak, four farms are affected by the virus infection. Two farms have already been cleared, and the other two farms are being cleared. The farms affected by the infection have been quarantined and are being kept under the strictest possible control – he emphasized. “We are doing everything to prevent the virus from getting out of there” – he said, adding that they have strengthened the disinfection points, tightened the guarding of the farms and are monitoring compliance with the epidemiological rules, because the human factor cannot be the spread of the virus. István Nagy emphasized that the government is providing assistance to farmers to ease their burdens due to the loss of production and to preserve the jobs of those working on livestock farms. He emphasized that it is bad news that the wind is blowing, because it also spreads the disease, but “it is extremely important that we do everything we can to stop and eliminate the presence of the virus in the area”. “We are doing everything we can” to prevent the virus from breaking out in the county and to eradicate the disease as soon as possible – he said.

The Minister reminded that since Saturday the Hungarian Defence Forces have also been participating in the disinfection work

István Nagy also spoke about the fact that a ten-kilometer lockdown has been ordered around the farms affected by the infection, within which hunting has been prohibited. At the same time, professional hunters have been asked to shoot game for diagnostic purposes in order to be able to take blood samples. Of the 176 animals shot, none were found to be infected with the foot-and-mouth disease virus, he said, adding that this is good news for protection. Such diagnostic shootings are taking place in all areas of the country to examine how well we are maintaining immunity, he highlighted. The Minister of Agriculture also said that the animal health operational team has ordered that the farms affected by the infection be surrounded by electric fences to prevent wild animals from straying into the area. “We ask hunters in the area to take on guard duty” to keep wild animals away, even with live force.

Birds can also contribute to the spread of the disease, so instructions have been given to purchase bird repellents

István Nagy also mentioned that since January 31, the National Food Chain Safety Office (Nébih) has not detected any new outbreaks of peste de petits ruminants in the domestic sheep population, so all territorial restrictions imposed due to the disease have been lifted. He added that exports can continue without disruption, which is a matter of life and death for the sector. However, due to foot-and-mouth disease, exports cannot be made from Győr-Moson-Sopron county. The main export destinations are Italy, but there is also growing demand from France, Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands. The authorities check all animals during export, he said. István Nagy emphasized that Hungary is lagging behind in sheep consumption, with people consuming only 20 decagrams of sheep per year. Kristóf Gál, spokesperson for the National Police Headquarters, said that Austria has closed several smaller border crossings due to foot-and-mouth disease, and the constantly updated list can be found on the police.hu website. He asked daily commuters to get information before setting off and not to set off for Austria as of tomorrow. The list of disinfection points on the police website is also being updated, which affects certain on- and off-ramps of the M1 motorway, and disinfection points were also installed at the Hegyeshalm and Rajka border crossings during the night, which affect freight traffic into the country. Kristóf Gál emphasized that due to the closed small borders and the disinfection work introduced by the Austrian authorities, temporary congestion may develop at the open border crossings.

MTI