Germany’s exports of meat and dairy products outside the EU are facing severe restrictions. The state of Brandenburg recently recorded the country’s first outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease (HFMD) in livestock in 40 years.
Three buffaloes died on a farm near Berlin. Experts are now investigating how they could have contracted HFMD. The rest of the animals in the herd have been slaughtered. Several goats and sheep in a small zoo, which bought hay from a farm with sick buffaloes, also had to be slaughtered.
A quarantine zone has been set up within three kilometres of the outbreak hotspot and a control zone within ten kilometres.
Cem Ozdemir, Germany’s agriculture minister, said:
“So far we are not sure that this case of the disease has only occurred in the state of Brandenburg and that other farms are not affected. Therefore, it is now important not only to identify the source of the disease, but also to co-operate closely on a national level.”
The German Ministry of Agriculture says that the country will now not be able to obtain veterinary certificates to export products from livestock farms outside the EU, as required by the World Organisation for Animal Health. However, within the EU, exports are possible, but only from farms in regions not affected by the outbreak.
Many countries are already refusing to import livestock products from Germany. Among them are Mexico, South Korea, Russia and Belarus.
The HFMD outbreak will also affect the Green Week agricultural trade fair in Berlin. Cows, goats and pigs will not be there.
Foot and mouth disease is an acute viral disease. It is accompanied by fever and purulent lesions of the oral and nasal mucosa. It spreads among cattle, pigs, goats, sheep and deer. Other animals, including cats, dogs and rodents, can also contract HFMD.
People can also become infected through contact with animals. The infection is also transmitted through raw milk and, less commonly, through meat. The previous outbreak of HFMD in Europe was in 2011.
