Germany’s first foot and mouth disease outbreak in almost 40 years – and the EU’s first in more than a decade – sent shockwaves through the global meat and dairy sectors, resulting in import bans in at least 10 countries.
Rapid reactive measures, such as restrictions on movement, testing, vaccination and pre-emptive culling, have helped to contain the spread, with no new cases reported in the past fortnight.
But the outbreak and its repercussions are a stark reminder of the importance of disease preparedness – for outbreaks in animals as well as people. The unexpected reappearance in Europe of foot and mouth disease, which has seen an estimated €1 billion wiped off of the German livestock sector, reinforces the need for continued dialogue on animal health to proactively monitor and anticipate such threats…