22 farms infected with FMD in Greece, producers block port
As the number of foot and mouth disease (FMD) cases continues to rise at the Greek island of Lesvos, producers are becoming increasingly desperate as to what to do with their milk and cheese produce. So far, no pig farms have been infected.
Outbreaks have been confirmed on the Greek island since 15 March. The island is located just 12 km away from the Turkish coastline and has about 85,000 inhabitants. Most farms are relatively small and family-run; they regularly have more than 1 type of livestock on-site.
22 farms infected with FMD
On the basis of the database of the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH), consulted on 16 April, the virus (serotype SAT 1) has now been confirmed on 22 farms in the northeast of the island. All outbreaks occurred in an area with a radius of roughly 4 km in the municipality of West Lesbos, covering the villages Pelopi, Napi and Mantmados. All animals on infected farms are being culled and buried on the spot.
In total, 10 of the 22 infected farms had cattle on-site. Only 1 of them was a cattle-only property, 9 held both cattle and sheep. Of the 9 infected mixed farms, one even kept 3 types of animals that are susceptible to FMD: cattle, sheep and goats. All other farms held sheep, goats or a combination. While Lesvos is also home to pigs, the majority is kept in the south of the island.
The most recently reported case to the WOAH was a combined cattle/sheep farm with 305 animals on-site. This farm was discovered to be infected on 29 March.
According to the newspaper Dimokratis, at least 180 farms were tested in March.
Livestock producers getting nervous
The situation on the Greek island is creating increasing amounts of nervousness amongst livestock producers – and beyond, according to the Greek newspaper Dimokratis. The FMD outbreak has led to a ban on livestock products from the island and farmers have been protesting for days to demand compensation from the authorities. Part of their protests includes a blocking of the port of Mytilini, which means that FMD has also started to affect tourism. After all, the port is used for the ferry to Turkey.
Non-infected dairy producers are feeling the pressure as indirectly the FMD crisis affects their income. Technically they can still send their produce to, for example, cheesemakers, but it is becoming increasingly difficult to do so. That is related to, for instance, additional hygiene rules and registration, but also to market hesitation and price drops.
For sheep producers, an additional type of problem has occurred, as they cannot send their lambs for slaughter, as slaughterhouses had to keep their doors closed. According to the Athens Times, over Easter, 70,000 sheep had to be slaughtered and consumed locally instead.
According to various sources, the virus might have already been circulating for some time before it was detected. Antibody detection suggest that this might have been the case. The Athens Times quoted a vet who said that the type of FMD causes “mostly mild or asymptomatic infection in sheep”.
FMD in Cyprus
Meanwhile, in Cyprus, epidemiologically a similar situation is evident. Outbreaks of FMD continue to be found there as well. In total 71 farms have now been tested positive since February 19, of which 10 had cattle on-site. Just like at Lesvos, the majority of cases occurred at sheep or mixed sheep-goat farms. Cases were found close to the border with the Turkish part of Cyprus, in an area with a 20 km radius.
