Fear of spreading lumpy skin disease in cattle to the rest of Spain

Girona / BarcelonaThe fear among Spanish livestock farmers and the different administrations that Lumpy skin disease (LSD) affecting the cattle sector The risk that the virus detected in Alt Empordà will spread to the rest of Spain is evident. In fact, this Tuesday the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food announced that it will allocate €660,000 to the purchase of vaccines against the disease, after the Council of Ministers approved the declaration of an emergency for health measures.

The ministry emphasized that the responsibility lies with the regional governments, but considers emergency vaccination an "essential practice" to curb the spread of the disease, particularly "in the first weeks after the first detection." In fact, the ministry has submitted to the European Commission (EC) an expanded vaccination plan against the virus to new regions in Catalonia and Aragon following the appearance of eighteen outbreaks on livestock farms in the province of Girona.

Specifically, the ministry has explained that authorization from Brussels is an "essential condition" for administering the vaccine against this new disease affecting cattle across Spain. At the Spanish Veterinary Health Alert Network (Rasve) committee meeting held this Tuesday, the ministry reported on the availability of vaccines that will allow for the implementation of this vaccination plan and at the same time have sufficient contingency stocks.

Currently, the approved vaccination radius of fifty kilometers around the eighteen outbreaks detected in the province of Girona covers 2,003 farms with 152,892 head of cattle, according to ministry sources explained to Europa Press. The plan, which must receive EC approval, aims to reach 369,323 more vaccinated animals spread across 2,164 farms in some twenty Catalan regions, as well as 685 farms with 86,386 cows in three regions of Aragon. The plan also includes a perimeter vaccination zone in five regions of Aragon and six in Catalonia where "extreme surveillance by veterinary services is being carried out."

The ministry has not ruled out the possibility that more outbreaks may appear in the vaccinated areas in the coming days, but has supported the work of the Generalitat (Catalan government), which has already supplied 100,000 vials. Furthermore, it is confident that the low temperatures will cause the flies that carry the virus to die and, in turn, the virus itself.

Milking: 66% of the population vaccinated

On the other hand, the Regional Minister of Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries, and Food of the Generalitat (Catalan Government), Òscar Ordeig, stated that 66 percent of the Catalan population in the three current outbreaks has already been vaccinated and explained that a new vaccination plan has been submitted, which must be approved by the European Commission, to expand the affected radius. He stated this during his appearance before a committee in the Parliament, along with the Secretary General of the Regional Ministry, Cristina Massot, and the Director General, Rosa Altisent.

"The situation is serious; we mustn't bury our heads in the sand," said Ordeig, who lamented that the sector is facing a disease hitherto unknown in Europe, although he emphasized that people's health is not at risk. There are currently two outbreaks in Catalonia, in Castelló d'Empúries and Cassà de la Selva (Girona) (in addition to a third in France), affecting eighteen Catalan farms.

The additional restriction zone, pending EC approval, is expected to include all the regions of Girona, Central Catalonia, the Pyrenees and Aran, and part of the Lleida plain. The area would expand the current 152,000 affected animals in the three outbreaks by approximately 370,000. 82.5% of farms and 92% of the population in the Castelló d'Empúries outbreak have already been vaccinated, while adding the three areas together, a total of 66% of the population has been vaccinated, 50% of the farms, with approximately 100,000 vaccinations. The regional ministry has explained that Catalonia has approximately 310,000 vaccines.

Regarding financial compensation for affected farms, Ordeig stated that the Catalan government's first €4 million package "will surely require additional contributions" and recalled that the regional ministry has already announced its intention to provide an advance payment to the sector until the compensation scales are finalized. The minister called for confidence in the management of the DNC and asserted that Catalonia has a robust system that works, although it must be continuously improved and perfected: "With all due respect to everyone, but we do things right." He argued that the regional ministry's "absolute priority" is to prevent the spread of the disease and expedite the vaccination process as much as possible, and reiterated that it is based exclusively on scientific criteria, although, in his words, they are sometimes not fully understood.

Most opposition groups have criticized the government for its "slovenliness" in managing the dermatosis and its lack of foresight. ERC criticized the Department of Agriculture for "not engaging in any self-criticism" or addressing "deficiencies" in its forecasting and management. Junts (Junts) again called for the minister's resignation and described his management as "slovenliness." The Popular Party (PP) recalled that its first meeting was "a complete disaster"; and the CUP (Cuban Unity Party) lamented the "mess" with some data, such as the number of vaccinated animals.