Takac: Foot-and-mouth Disease Hasn't Spread Beyond Medvedov, Narad and Baka Yet

Baka, March 22 (TASR) - The presence of foot-and-mouth disease has been confirmed among livestock in three villages of southern Slovakia - Medvedov, Narad and Baka, with the slaughtering of farm cattle underway, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Richard Takac (Smer-SD) announced at a press briefing following a session of a crisis team in Dunajska Streda on Saturday. The main goal of the measures is to prevent the highly-contagious livestock disease from spreading any further, added Takac. On late Friday, vaccines against the disease were delivered to Slovakia from Germany. The slaughtering of more than 1,000 animals in Baka farm commenced on Saturday. All farm animals in the three-kilometre radius around the confirmed ground zero of the epidemic will be put down. "This concerns beef cattle, pigs, sheep and goats," said Takac, adding that the illness does not endanger people. Disinfection of vehicles is being carried out at the affected locations. "Intense border checks as well as domestic checks take place across the entire Slovak soil," he claimed. Seeing as the disease spreads via airborne transmission, the current windy weather does not help, pointed out Takac. A special emergency session of the Government is to be held on Saturday evening to address the situation. Interior Ministry state secretary Lucia Kurilovska added that the ministry extends maximum cooperation to the Ministry of Agriculture, with both the Police Corps, Firefighter and Emergency Crops and crisis management deployed. On standby are also services of the Defence Ministry and the Slovak Armed Forces. mf