Albania bans the import of small cattle from Greece to prevent the plague from entering

Albania decided to stop the import of sheep and goats from Greece after the spread of plague among small livestock in the neighboring country.

The National Veterinary and Plant Protection Authority is expected to carry out checks at the border points between Albania and Greece for the implementation of the decision, while the checks are expected to increase in the land belt of the Albanian-Greek border to prevent the illegal entry of cattle herds.

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.

According to official sources, the order of the Minister of Agriculture, Anila Denaj, in addition to banning the import of sheep and goats from Greece, also includes Romania, the country where the first cases of small cattle plague appeared this year.

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

According to the Albanian veterinary service, the plague disease in sheep and goats has great spreading ability and the affected cattle, according to the European Union guidelines, must be destroyed, but there is no danger to human life.

The first case of sheep and goat plague was recorded on July 11 in central Greece and several thousand affected cattle have been destroyed by veterinary authorities in several areas of 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 of rinderpest in Georgia in 2016 and in Bulgaria in 2018, while this summer rinderpest appeared in Romania and then in Greece. VOA