24 Mar 2025
Slovakia has joined Hungary and Germany in recording infections this year, prompting renewed calls for UK clinicians and producers to be on their guard.
Allister Webb
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Image: Oleksii / Adobe Stock
Vets and farmers have been warned to be vigilant after a “disturbing” increase in foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) cases in mainland Europe.
The plea was issued by Defra officials on Saturday (22 March), after three new cases of the disease were confirmed in Slovakia, close to the Hungarian border.
The UK Government introduced import restrictions on produce from both countries earlier this month, following a case on the Hungarian side of the frontier.
UK CVO Christine Middlemiss said officials remain in contact with their European counterparts over the situation.
But she also called for clinicians and producers to be on their guard against the disease in relation to both the current cases and a previous outbreak in Germany in January.
She added: “We have seen a disturbing number of foot-and-mouth cases on the continent, and we need to stay on high alert to the risk of disease incursion – as a government, at the border and on our farms.
“Protecting animal health and minimising the risk of disease incursion remains our top priority.
“Livestock keepers are reminded to continue exercising the upmost vigilance for signs of disease, follow scrupulous biosecurity and report any suspicion of disease immediately to the Animal and Plant Health Agency.”
Farming minister Daniel Zeichner acknowledged the confirmation of FMD in a third European country, following Hungary and Germany, was “a serious concern”, but said it endorsed the early import ban.
He said: “Ensuring the safety of our livestock sector and protecting our farmers will always be a top priority.”
