The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs confirmed the outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease in Germany and announced on the 12th that it will prohibit the import of German pork and pig products.
According to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, the German Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture reported to the World Organization for Animal Health (WOAH) that three buffaloes that died on a farm in Brandenburg were confirmed to have foot-and-mouth disease.
Foot-and-mouth disease is a highly contagious disease caused by the foot-and-mouth disease virus that infects cloven-hoofed animals such as cattle, pigs, and sheep, and is classified as a type 1 livestock infectious disease in South Korea.
This is the first outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease in Germany in 37 years, since 1988. In Europe, the last reported outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease was in Bulgaria in 2011.
The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs also decided to conduct foot-and-mouth disease testing on German pork that has been shipped since December 27th of last year and has arrived in the country.
Plans are in place to monitor the occurrence of foot-and-mouth disease in Poland and areas close to Germany.
Currently, the amount of German pork awaiting quarantine in the country is 360 tons, which was shipped from Germany between October 26th and November 17th last year.
Considering the maximum incubation period (14 days) of the foot-and-mouth disease virus, the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs reported that there is no risk of infection and decided to proceed with customs clearance through general quarantine procedures.