The outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease and the measures implemented to contain it continue to cause strong reactions and concern in society, with the issue of animal killings being at the center of the public debate.
In this context, Dr. Stavros Malas, president of the Cyprus Institute and head of the Special Scientific Committee, explains to Filenews the logic behind the decisions of the competent authorities and outlines the course of the epidemic, giving answers to the main questions that concern livestock farmers.
First, he explained why the choice of killing animals is a one-way street. "Foot-and-mouth disease is caused by a virus that is very contagious. The more the virus is transmitted, the more likely it is to mutate and not even vaccines cover it," he noted.
He added that the European Union has chosen not to give the virus the opportunity to survive and spread. "If a positive animal is detected in one unit, the next day there will be five. This unit will transmit the virus to the neighbouring ones," he said. He also stressed that Europe has decided many decades ago, instead of fighting the virus exclusively with vaccines, to proceed with the killing of animals.
He underlined that so far 7% of the livestock has been lost. "There is no support for the view that in the end all the animals will be killed. In the last two months, 103 units have been infected with the virus," he said.
At the same time, he pointed out that it is obvious that vaccination has begun to work. "We are doing extremely well and it seems that the measure has worked, as a result of which we do not detect positive units," he noted. He added that when the virus enters a unit with vaccinated animals, there is a possibility that the animal itself will neutralize it before it enters its body.
Referring to the origin of the virus, he underlined that it came from the occupied territories, at a time when the units in the free areas were unprotected. "The Republic of Cyprus proceeded with two main actions: the killing of the animals in the infected units and the vaccination of the rest," he said.
"The virus came with two legs from the occupied territories"
In addition, he referred to the areas where the core of the virus is located. "It is found in five areas. Oroklini, Dromolaxia, Aradippou, Geri and western Nicosia, where it seems to be a local phenomenon. The virus was probably transferred to the pig farms through infected animal transport vehicles," he noted. As he pointed out, the positive element is that only eight units operate in the area.
"The virus came with two legs from the occupied territories," he said characteristically, explaining that "some people carried it and it did not come from the air, but through illegal activity". At the same time, he noted that vaccination is applied in the occupied territories, which limits the spread, as long as there is no illegal trafficking. "If there is no illegal trafficking, then the chances of the continuation of the spread of the virus are almost eliminated," he added.
He also clarified that the airborne transmission of the virus in the free areas was observed mainly between units that are adjacent to each other. He then referred to shadow economy phenomena between occupied and free areas, pointing out that "we have seen the consequences. If they want us to continue to suffer it, then they should continue the illegality."
Great fear of pig farms
He placed particular emphasis on the danger faced by pig farms. "Pig farms are a big fear," he said, explaining that sheep, goats and cows have already been fully vaccinated, while pigs remain. "They are very vulnerable and that is why our concern is pig farms," he noted.
He added that a total of 28 large pig farms are operating in Cyprus, of which three have already been infected with the virus. "Great care is needed for the remaining 25," he said, stressing that pigs transmit the virus at a particularly fast rate.
Finally, he underlined the need to change the livestock model in Cyprus. "We must forget the old model," he said, while stressing that it is necessary to properly inform the citizens. "There is misinformation and we are trying to inform the people responsibly," he concluded.
