Nicosia, Cyprus. The infection rate of foot-and-mouth disease remained stable on Wednesday, with a total of 42 cases recorded in the Republic of Cyprus as further cullings were carried out in Dromolaxia, Geri and Livadia.
Vaccination rates and monitoring
Veterinary services spokesperson Sotiria Georgiadou said vaccination coverage had exceeded 85 per cent of the cattle population nationwide and reached 49.3 per cent in sheep and goats. She said new laboratory results were still pending and would require comprehensive examination to assess how the situation is progressing.
Reporting and response planning
Georgiadou said analyses are conducted daily but only positive cases are announced, with the number of cases unchanged from Tuesday. She said timelines and plans had been set to better organise the response and to get ahead of the virus.
Investigations and sampling concerns
Georgiadou said that when a case is identified in a livestock unit, an epidemiological investigation is launched to determine the extent of the spread. She said no incidents of farmers attempting to block cullings were recorded on Wednesday, but some livestock farmers, particularly in Geri, objected to the taking of samples.
She said some farmers reacted to sampling by citing legislation requiring a second vaccination before samples are taken, adding that further checks would be carried out 30 days after the second round of vaccinations. Georgiadou said tests detect antibodies from natural infection, not from vaccination, and said concerns that vaccinated animals could be culled were unfounded. She said the sampling is provided for under legislation and is conducted as a precaution to track how the virus is spreading.
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