Pachna, Cyprus. Livestock farmers in Pachna in the Limassol district are awaiting laboratory test results on Wednesday after an animal on a farm with 70 goats and sheep tested positive for foot and mouth disease.
First case in Limassol district
Pachna community leader Andreas Savva said the development had raised concern among farmers in the area, describing it as the first case in the Limassol region.
Restrictions and disinfection measures
Savva said the area had been cordoned off and the Veterinary Services were disinfecting vehicles. He added that five crews from the Limassol veterinary service were visiting farms and that a 3km-radius area had been isolated. Savva said that in two or three days there would be more clarity on the status of surrounding farms.
Farmers raise questions over transmission
Savva said he hoped the disease had not spread to other farms in Pachna, noting that farms in the area were quite far apart. Farmer Costas Salatas, who said he had a thousand animals on his farm about 1km from the infected unit, questioned how the disease had reached the area. Salatas said the owner of the infected farm milked his own animals and did not allow others in.
Vaccination and case totals
Salatas said his sheep and goats, as well as those of most farmers in the area, had received both doses of the vaccine. The Veterinary Service confirmed the first case of foot and mouth disease in the Limassol district on Tuesday, bringing the total number of cases to 117, with four new cases confirmed in livestock units in Dromolaxia and Athienou over the weekend.
What measures are being taken to protect farms near the isolated 3km-radius area?