Takac: Foot-and-mouth Disease Confirmed in Medvedov, Narad and Baka

Bratislava, March 21 (TASR) - The presence of foot-and-mouth disease has been confirmed at three livestock farms in southern Slovakia located in the villages of Medvedov, Narad and Baka (all Trnava region), Agriculture Minister Richard Takac (Smer-SD) told a news conference held following a meeting of the the National Commission for Infectious Diseases on Friday. According to the minister, measures will be taken at two levels - nation-wide and at the level of the districts of Dunajska Streda and Komarno. The disease apparently reached Slovakia through the air from Hungary. Some 2,000 cattle will be vaccinated in a short time. "However, vaccination doesn't change the fact that cattle will have to be culled. It means that we will only postpone, delay and mitigate the spread of the disease, which is very important for us in this situation," said the minister, adding that this is an animal disease, not a human one. The National Commission for Infectious Diseases will hold a meeting at the Agriculture Ministry at 4 p.m. In addition to the commission members, representatives of several ministries, farmers, food producers, hunters and other affected entities will also be present at the meeting. "We'll have all the guidelines finalised at 4 p.m.," said the minister, adding that crisis management teams will meet in the districts of Dunajska Streda and Komarno. Foot-and-mouth disease is a serious, highly contagious and febrile viral disease among livestock with significant economic impacts. It affects cattle, pigs, sheep, goats and other ungulate ruminants. ko/df