Irish farmers urged to be vigilant after Germany records case of foot and mouth disease
The Department of Agriculture has confirmed that no animals susceptible to foot and mouth disease have been imported into Ireland from Germany since November 1.
Irish farmers are urged to be vigilant after Germany confirmed its first case of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) since 1988.
The disease was detected in water buffalo in the state of Brandenburg. The German authorities have put in place controls to prevent onward spread and are investigating the circumstances of the outbreak.
The Minister for Agriculture Charlie McConalogue said everyone in Ireland, particularly farmers, should stay vigilant to protect Irish livestock.
FMD is a highly contagious viral disease of cattle, sheep, pigs and other cloven-hoofed animals. It causes very significant economic losses, due to production losses in the affected animals and due to the loss of access to foreign markets for animals, meat and milk for affected countries.
FMD does not infect humans and does not pose a food safety risk. Ireland has remained free of FMD since 2001 when an outbreak caused serious disruption. While Ireland was not as severely impacted by that outbreak as the UK was, efforts to contain the disease led to widespread containment measures and restrictions on events including the cancellation of St Patrick's Day parades and the postponement of international rugby games.
"The Department is taking action to protect Irish livestock following this outbreak," the minister said. "The Department has confirmed that no animals susceptible to FMD (cattle, sheep, pigs, etc) have been imported into Ireland from Germany since 1st November 2024 which is long before the case in Germany would have been first infected.
Ireland’s controls to prevent FMD include strict prohibitions on the imports of animals and animal products from countries in which FMD is present; a comprehensive veterinary surveillance system to detect unusual disease outbreaks; and active follow-up and veterinary investigation of any suspect reports.
If an FMD case were to be identified in Ireland, the infected herd would be culled, the site disinfected, and a 3km protection zone and 10km surveillance zone set up, within which very strict movement controls and testing would be imposed.
A national movement ban is very likely to be imposed in the first days after any initial FMD case. If a case of FMD were to occur in Ireland, it would lead to the immediate loss of market access for Irish animals and animal products.
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