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Hungarian pig sector also in trouble due to FMD
Officially, no pig farm in Hungary has been infected with foot-and-mouth disease (FMD), but things are tense since a fifth livestock farm was declared infected in the country last week. What is striking about this outbreak is that the virus has made a leap south and broke out on a mixed farm.
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Choose the subscription that suits youThe infected farm is located in Rábapodány, some 30 kilometres south of the first outbreaks around Györ. The farm was reported to have some 875 cows, but also pigs. These pigs were not infected, it was found, but as a precaution the preventive culling of some 10.000 pigs was started.
It is now difficult to get a good overview of the course of events with the FMD infections in Hungary and Slovakia. Both countries have received international help in combating the epidemic, including via experts from Brussels, but not much is being said about the status of the campaign. The Hungarian government has already announced several times that the epidemic was under control, but then it turned out to be different. It has also been said that the outbreak is the result of bioterrorism.
Impact on logistics
It is striking that the virus variant in question in this case is the O-type virus, which normally occurs in Pakistan. Vaccinations are also being administered, but these measures have not stopped the virus so far.
Due to the many restrictive measures, especially in the area of transport, the pig sector in Hungary and Slovakia in particular is suffering from the epidemic - although officially no pig has been infected yet. In Hungary, more than 100.000 pigs and piglets are waiting to be transported to a slaughterhouse or breeding company and every week this number increases by about 10.000 animals, according to the authorities.