What you need to know about the ‘goat plague’ that has re-emerged in Europe and now affects the production of Greece’s ‘white gold’.
First detected on July 11 in Thessaly, central Greece, the highly contagious peste de petits ruminants (PPR) quickly spread to affect several farms in neighbouring Romania, prompting authorities to cull nearly 58,000 sheep and goats in response.
To combat the viral outbreak, Greek authorities have imposed restrictions nationwide, including a ban on moving sheep and goats from their farms.
The disease poses a significant threat to Greece’s domestic livestock industry and the production of its signature feta cheese, a cornerstone of its economy. Approximately 40% of Greece’s soft cheese is derived from sheep and goat milk produced in Thessaly, which also suffered from devastating floods last year.
Greece produces around 140,000 tonnes of feta annually, exporting about 65% of its production, thus playing a crucial role in the global dairy market despite its size.
PPR is not a zoonosis, meaning it does not transmit from animals to humans. Therefore, meat and milk from affected animals remain safe for consumption. However, the disease significantly impacts livestock production due to the necessity of culling large numbers of animals to control its spread.
The Paris-based World Organization for Animal Health (WOAH) characterises PPR as having “severe morbidity and mortality rates” and causing a high economic impact in regions such as Africa, the Middle East, and Asia, where goats and sheep are vital food sources.
According to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), symptoms of the disease include depression, fever, nasal and ocular discharges, oral sores, respiratory distress, coughing, diarrhoea, and death.
What the EU has done
“The Commission is following closely with both countries and setting up the necessary measures at the EU level,” a Commission official told Euronews.
The EU executive adopted urgent procedures for Greece and Romania on 19 and 26 July respectively after votes in its standing committee on the food chain and animal health.
These procedures aim to restrict the movement of susceptible commodities to ensure that safe trade can continue while ensuring safety and maintaining the EU’s sanitary standards.
“At this stage, further questions should be addressed to the Greek and Romanian responsible authorities,” the Commission official said.
Contacted by Euronews, the EU food safety authority (EFSA) has acknowledged the critical situation in both countries but has not yet received requests for scientific support in this area.
“We stand ready to assist risk managers with our scientific advice if requested,” an EFSA official said.
Containment measures
In a 2021 opinion, EFSA outlined control measures for PPR under the Animal Health Law, emphasising the importance of immediate quarantine of affected herds, restrictions on animal movements within and between farms, and intensive surveillance through clinical and laboratory testing.
Surveillance zones should be established around infected areas to monitor and control the disease’s spread. To reduce environmental contamination, infected animals should be humanely culled and their carcasses safely disposed of.
ADVERTISEMENTMass vaccination of susceptible animal populations is also crucial to create herd immunity and prevent further outbreaks.
At the same time, strict biosecurity measures on farms such as disinfecting equipment and vehicles, controlling human movement, and ensuring the hygiene of farm workers should be put in place on farms.
According to the EU authority, these measures, when implemented rigorously, can significantly control and eventually eradicate goat plague, protecting both animal health and livelihoods dependent on small ruminants.
The PPR virus was first identified in 1942 in the Ivory Coast and has since spread across large areas of Africa, the Middle East, and Asia. Currently, over 70 countries have reported PPR cases within their borders, with many more at risk.
ADVERTISEMENT