Romania tightens precautions against foot-and-mouth disease

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According to the authority’s statement, the National Center for Disease Control (CNBC) held an extraordinary meeting on Friday and adopted a package of measures to prevent the spread of foot-and-mouth disease in Romania. As part of this, the import of live animals, feed, straw, compost and manure from Hungary to Romania has been banned. In addition, the import of meat and meat products, untreated milk and animal products obtained from cloven-hoofed animals from infected areas is also not allowed.

The statement reminds that four foci of the disease have been identified in Hungary, six in Slovakia, and one in Germany

They pointed out that the spread of the epidemic in Romania is facilitated by the fact that customs controls between Hungary and Romania were abolished after the country joined the Schengen area. Therefore, health and veterinary checkpoints were set up on roads coming from Hungary, with the participation of veterinarians from the Animal Health Authority and employees of the Ministry of the Interior. In addition, sample checks were prescribed for those Romanian farms that imported livestock from Hungary and Slovakia after February 1. The authorities also ordered more frequent disinfection of farms and animal transport vehicles, as well as stricter security. To complement the measures, foot-and-mouth disease testing is also mandatory for all animal shipments entering Romania.

MTI