Premier: Cabinet Meeting Likely to Be Called on Monday because of Foot-and-mouth

Bratislava, March 28 (TASR) - An extraordinary cabinet meeting is likely to be convened on Monday, March 31, due to the demands of members of the crisis management team for the prevention of the spread of foot-and-mouth disease, Premier Robert Fico (Smer-SD) said in a video on social media on Friday. The prime minister also supported the measures taken by the Agriculture Ministry and veterinarians, including the elimination of all breeding in the endangered area. "I'm very sorry that so far a large number of animals have had to be killed, including animals from small domestic farms. However, if we underestimate and neglect the situation, the result could be that Slovak livestock production will fall to its knees," said Fico, pointing out that the genetic match of the virus on Slovak farms with a sample from Hungary was confirmed, and therefore, in his opinion, the most likely route of transmission to Slovakia was the wind. Fico stressed that EU experts assess Slovakia's measures positively. "I quote from the evaluation: The measures taken by the Slovak authorities were timely, professionally implemented and in line with European legislation. Slovakia is managing the situation, but risks still remain," said Fico. "I believe that nothing needs to be added to these words at this point. Only that I thank everyone, the whole pyramid headed by [Agriculture] Minister Takac [Smer-SD] and Chief Veterinarian [Martin] Chudy," he added. The presence of foot-and-mouth disease has been confirmed at livestock farms in four villages in southern Slovakia - Medvedov, Narad, Baka and Luc na Ostrove. The disease probably reached Slovakia from Hungary. It is a serious, highly contagious and febrile viral disease among livestock with significant economic impacts. The government has declared a state of emergency covering the entire territory of Slovakia in response to the disease. am