Authorities lack info over spreading of foot-and-mouth disease in the north

The Republic’s authorities have not been briefed on the latest developments regarding the spread of foot-and-mouth disease in the north, veterinary services director Christodoulos Pipis said on Saturday.

“We carried out the checks recommended by the European Commission to identify potential incidents in a timely manner, fortunately the results of the investigations and laboratory tests were all negative,” he added.

He emphasised that no outbreak of the disease has been reported in the Republic.

However, he said the authorities had not been briefed about any new developments in the north.

“[The Turkish Cypriots] are not telling us anything beyond what they made known through the team of experts who came and that they have carried out the second vaccination in the three cattle breeding units in Lapithos,” he said.

In late December, experts from the EU Commission’s veterinary emergency team arrived on the island to investigate the outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease in livestock units in the north.

“Aside from that that, they have not mentioned anything else, nor do we know anything,” Pipis said.

He added that “it remains a mystery” how the incident occurred in just three cattle-breeding units in Lapithos and reiterated that the Republic’s authorities were proceeding with relevant measures to limit the spread of the disease.

“We are implementing the measures provided for by the surveillance carried out on the units along the Green Line,” he reiterated.

The European Commission on Friday delivered half a million vaccines against foot-and-mouth disease to the north as part of support measures to contain its further spread.

“The vaccines, which arrived [on Friday], were mobilised from the EU vaccine bank. They serve as emergency assistance to strengthen immunity in susceptible livestock populations and to reduce the risk of further transmission,” the Commission said.

Pipis said that he had personally received the vaccinations and that they were delivered to the north via the Ledra Palace checkpoint with the support of the bi-communal technical health committee on the same day.

“This is the first delivery of vaccines organised by the European Commission since the beginning of the year, as part of its continuous monitoring of the outbreak of FMD in the village of Lapathos in December,” the Commission said.

According to the Turkish Cypriot veterinarians’ association, the first outbreak was detected at a farm in the Famagusta district village of Ayios Sergios in mid-December.

Affected animals were quarantined and vaccinated, the farm and other facilities disinfected and movement restricted.

Soon after, Ankara’s Foot and Mouth Research Institute reported four further cases at a livestock unit in Lapithos.

The north’s ‘agriculture minister’, Huseyin Cavus, in December said the area had been quarantined, with animal movement prohibited and that an estimated 13,000 animals, including cattle, sheep and goats, would be vaccinated to prevent further spread.

While no outbreak has been confirmed in the bases or in the south, the Bases had temporarily introduced precautionary disinfection measures for vehicles at the Pergamos and Strovilia crossing points to reduce potential transmission.

Foot-and-mouth disease is a viral infection that affects cattle, pigs, goats and sheep. Infected animals usually recover but may lose weight and experience reduced milk and meat production.

Although highly contagious among animals, the disease is not harmful to humans.