Central European countries will call on the European Commission to coordinate EU-wide action to prevent the further spread of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD), Agriculture Minister Marek Vyborny (KDU-CSL) told journalists before a government meeting yesterday.
Vyborny said that a meeting of the Visegrad Four countries (Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, Hungary), Austria and Germany is currently being planned, with the aim to jointly initiate to the Commission a clear position on support for countries that are trying to prevent the spread of the disease.
“The measures that countries are taking are not just for their own sake, but also to prevent the spread of the disease within the EU, so the situation deserves EU-wide coordination and we want to call for this together with other Central European countries,” he said.
According to Vyborny, Slovakia and Hungary should be part of the meeting as the disease is currently spreading in these countries, as well as the Czech Republic and Poland, which are at immediate risk of FMD, and Germany and Austria. Germany had cases of the disease earlier this year and Austria is under a surveillance zone.
The minister reiterated yesterday that the disease is neither present nor suspected in the Czech Republic. He said the measures in place are working, but he is also addressing other steps that could arise in connection with the outbreak. Farmers and food producers yesterday called for stricter measures to prevent the spread of FMD into the Czech Republic, such as a ban on the import of animals from all neighbouring countries.
The Czech government also discussed yesterday the deployment of troops at the border as a precaution against the spread of FMD. “We will address the use of the Czech Army, specifically military veterinarians, to strengthen services at the state border,” Vyborny said. Earlier, he said that about 20 workers from the army should be involved, and they should start helping from Thursday or Friday. He said the decision to deploy the troops is not overdue.
The risk of the disease being introduced into the country has risen significantly after the outbreak was confirmed on Sunday in Plavecky Stvrtok, Slovakia, about 50 kilometres from the Czech border. Two other farms confirmed FMD in Hungary yesterday.
Foot-and-mouth disease is a highly contagious, serious viral disease of solipeds that is most effectively tackled by culling the entire herd. According to experts, the risk of transmission to humans is very low to negligible.
