Protective Measures Against Foot-and-Mouth Disease Are Being Relaxed
By the end of Tuesday, the last restricted zones in Burgenland and Lower Austria will be lifted. The smaller border crossings to Hungary and Slovakia, which were closed at the beginning of April due to foot-and-mouth disease (FMD), will also be reopened. Nevertheless, certain hygiene and biosecurity measures will remain in place - such as mandatory concepts at animal markets and minimum requirements for livestock farms.
Königsberger-Ludwig: Introduction of Foot-and-Mouth Disease Could Be Prevented
State Secretary for Health Ulrike Königsberger-Ludwig (SPÖ) spoke of a "success of joint, rapid, and coordinated crisis management," stating that it was possible to prevent the introduction of FMD into Austria. The protection of Austria was achieved through "high professional competence and extraordinary cooperation." Minister of Agriculture Norbert Totschnig (ÖVP) emphasized the involvement of agricultural enterprises and at the same time warned against complacency: The residual risk remains.
Since March, around 20,000 samples have been tested for FMD in Austria - all of which were negative. In Hungary and Slovakia, new cases appeared in mid-April. The armed forces were also challenged for weeks. "After weeks of deployment, I am proud to say that the armed forces have made a significant contribution to ensuring that foot-and-mouth disease was not introduced into Austria," said Defense Minister Klaudia Tanner (ÖVP).
(APA/Red)
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