Is Albania taking measures to prevent the entry of small cattle plague from Greece

The veterinary service authorities in the border areas of Albania and Greece announced special measures to prevent the entry of small cattle plague that has affected the neighboring country.

The Albanian veterinary service is on the ground in the Gjirokastra District with 7 control groups, Krenar Veliu, in the regional veterinary service, told VOA.

"Large farms of small cattle are being monitored and especially the transport of cattle, controls are being carried out for suspected cases and so far no case of plague of small cattle has been recorded in Albania", said Mr. Veliu.

He said that the plague of small cattle (sheep and goats) that has appeared in Greece recently is a disease that is not transmitted from cattle to humans, but severely damages the livestock economy.

The disease has great spreading capabilities and affected cattle must be destroyed, but there is no danger to human life, Mr. Veliu said.

According to official sources, monitoring groups have also been set up in regional veterinary services in several other districts of the country, such as Korça, Berat and Elbasan.

The Albanian veterinary service is making an effort to make shepherds aware, especially in the border areas with Greece, of the high risk of the disease for their economies.

Previously, in some border areas, illegal transport of cattle from Greece to Albania was carried out, and if this phenomenon continues in the border zone, it may bring, according to veterinarians, the transfer of the disease to Albania as well.

The first case of sheep and goat plague was registered on July 11 in central Greece and several thousand affected lambs have been destroyed by veterinary authorities in several areas of Greece.

According to the guidelines of the European Union, animals that are found to be affected must be slaughtered.

The Greek Minister of Agriculture, Kostas Tsiaras decided these days as a preventive measure to stop the spread of the disease, the ban on the transport of goats and sheep throughout Greece.

Sheep and goat plague has been endemic for many years in many countries in Africa, the Middle East and Asia where vaccination programs are implemented to control it.

In Europe, official data refer to cases in Georgia in 2016 and in Bulgaria in 2018, while this summer rinderpest appeared in Romania and then in Greece. VOA