Cattle Vaccination in Medvedov and Narad Farms Completed, Culling Not Yet Begun

Medvedov/Narad, March 24 (TASR) - The vaccination of cattle on farms in the villages of Medvedov and Narad in the district of Dunajska Streda (Trnava region), which have been hit by foot-and-mouth disease, was completed on Sunday (March 23), Maros Sykora of a company called "Nase farmy" (Our Farms) told TASR on Monday, adding that the culling of the cattle on these farms hasn't started yet. "The vaccination was completed yesterday. The slaughter of animals on both farms that belong to Nase farmy hasn't begun yet," said Sykora, as the facility in Mojsova Lucka has limited capacity. The culling of livestock began at the third affected farm in the village of Baka. According to the State Veterinary and Food Administration (SVPS), vaccination serves mainly to reduce the excretion of the foot-and-mouth disease virus. "This measure was taken to gain the time needed to kill animals in individual outbreaks in a humane manner. The European Commission has been informed about this measure," SVPS has posted on its website. The presence of foot-and-mouth disease has been confirmed at livestock farms in three villages in southern Slovakia - Medvedov, Narad and Baka. The disease probably reached Slovakia from Hungary. A state of emergency has been declared in the district of Dunajska Streda since Friday (March 21) evening. Foot-and-mouth is a serious, highly contagious and febrile viral disease among livestock with significant economic impacts. ko/df