FMD Germany: pig industry holds its breath
The German and Dutch pig, dairy and beef industries all hold their breaths: for the 1st time in 37 years, a case of Foot-and-Mouth Disease (FMD) emerged in Germany on Friday January 10. The outbreak led to a lot of immediate consequences. South Korea for instance has banned the import of German pork.
All wheels were set in motion on Friday, January 10. On a farm in Brandenburg state (in the east of Germany), 3 water buffaloes died of FMD, serotype O. As a consequence, 11 more water buffaloes on the farm had to be culled. In addition, Germany has lost its status of ‘free of FMD without vaccination.’
As the news is still fresh, the discovery has various far-reaching consequences – for the dairy, beef and pork industries, as FMD can occur in cattle as well as in pigs. This article is an overview of consequences until so far.
Transport ban for livestock in Germany
In Germany, a restricted and a monitoring area were put in place as well as a transport ban for pigs, cattle, sheep, goats and camelids throughout Brandenburg state for at least 72 hours. That was later extended to include Berlin.
All susceptible animals within a 1 km radius around the infected water buffalo farm were culled on Saturday January 11, which included a farm with 170 pigs in Barnim district. Animals at a 2nd location of the infected farm, 18 km away in Oder-Spree district, also got culled as a precaution. That included 55 goats, sheep and 3 cattle. Those animals were not showing any symptoms. A suspected animal in the Berlin region tested negative.
It is, however, possible that the virus may have already spread in the district of Barnim, partly because the animals might have been infected with FMD for a long time. Susceptible animals within a radius of 3 km around the infection are therefore being sampled for the virus.
According to Germany’s federal ministry of agriculture (BMEL), the principle of regionalisation applies outside the restricted zones in domestic German and intra-EU trade, i.e. shipments are still possible.
South Korea bans import of German pork due to FMD
South Korea has banned the import of pork from Germany with immediate effect until further notice. The South Korean ministry of agriculture added that about 360 tons of German pork, imported since December 27, will be quarantined and tested for possible FMD contamination. South Korea also wants to closely monitor developments in neighbouring regions and countries such as Poland.
No cloven-hoofed animals at Green Week
At the agricultural fair Grüne Woche (Green Week), which is taking place in Berlin this week, a huge amount of international visitors are being expected. As a consequence of the outbreak, there shall not be any cloven-hoofed animals present due to the FMD outbreak. Lars Jaeger, director of the Green Week, told the local news outlet RBB: “There will not be cattle, sheep, goats and alpacas to see as planned, but there will be many other farm and pet animals.”
Emergency measures in the Netherlands
In the neighbouring Netherlands, a total of 125 farms have been told to suspend any operations. These are farms that imported calves from Brandenburg state within the last few weeks. Femke Wiersma, the country’s minister for agriculture, decided to do that in order to eliminate any risk of the spread of FMD in the Netherlands. All in all, since December 1, approximately 3,600 calves have been imported from Brandenburg to the Netherlands.
In addition, stakeholders within the Dutch business, united in the SBK, also decided to implement a standstill until Sunday, January 19. That means that no calves can be transported within the Netherlands, irrespective their origin – with the exception of transfer to a slaughterhouse. The SBK decided to ban imports of veal calves from Brandenburg state until further notice.
Origin of FMD outbreak unclear
Germany’s leading agricultural title Top Agrar reported about a press conference on Saturday, in which Dr Ralph Bötticher from the veterinary office of the Märkisch-Oderland district stated that the search for the possible cause of the outbreak was still ongoing. The producer in whose herd of buffalo FMD was detected, is active in the organic sector. He does not buy any feed. He feeds his own hay and looks after a landscape conservation area.
The serotype 0 of the virus is a known serotype. It also exists in the Middle East and Asia, and it is also available in Germany’s antigen bank. That means that vaccine production would theoretically be possible within days.
