Dermatosis spreads: seven more farms and 1,500 cattle slaughtered

MadridAs new outbreaks of lumpy skin disease (LSD) appear in the Alt Empordà region, the number of vaccines administered to combat the disease is increasing. So far, up to 207,000 vaccines have been released so veterinarians can administer them on farms within the protected zones close to confirmed outbreaks, as announced by the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries, and Food, Luis Planas, at a press conference this Tuesday following the Council of Ministers. Planas explained that these doses arrived in three separate batches and that negotiations are underway to secure more.

"The appropriate measures are being taken," the minister stated. Planas also emphasized that action has been taken "diligently" in the face of a disease that has never affected the beef sector in Spain and for which "there are no preventive measures or preventive vaccinations," he said. "Vaccination [against lumpy skin disease] is specific. It must not only be authorized by the Ministry [of Agriculture], but also by the European Commission because it produces false positives, which is why it is only applied in restricted areas," he explained. The sector, however, has called for preventive vaccination of all cattle in Catalonia to eradicate the virus and avoid further slaughter.

Specifically, the priority of the Department of Agriculture is to accelerate vaccination. Specifically, for the 152,000 head of cattle located within the protection zones established so far. According to the Ministry, immunization has already reached around 70% of the animals in the Alt Empordà zone. "We're calling on all veterinarians in Catalonia to help with the vaccination [...] 250,000 more doses are expected to arrive in the first week of November. Therefore, we have the vaccines. What I would ask for is trust," explained the regional minister of Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries and Food, Òscar Ordeig, on Monday at the . More night from 3Cat.

Deny the farms

But the words of Minister Planas and Minister Ordeig clash with those of the primary sector, where concern remains over a disease that has already led to the slaughter of some 1,500 cattle, according to the latest data from the Department of Agriculture. At a press conference on Tuesday, the Unió de Pagesos union once again lamented the lack of foresight and planning in managing lumpy skin disease and pointed out the delays and slowness in the cattle immunization process. "The prevention system has not worked [...] The administrations have not done their job, nor have they read the regulations," criticized the union's national coordinator, Raquel Serrat, as explained by ACN. According to Unió de Pagesos calculations, an average of 90 cows have been immunized per day. Vaccination began on October 8, although the first outbreak of lumpy skin disease in Catalonia was detected on October 1 on a farm in Castelló d'Empúries, in the Alt Empordà region.

Now, in total, there are 17 farms infected with the virus in the Girona region: 16 in Alt Empordà and one in Gironès. Of those in Alt Empordà, seven outbreaks were reported this Tuesday. Given that the cases are close to the other outbreaks confirmed so far, the 50-kilometer protection radius remains unchanged. Unió de Pagesos has also called for accountability.

For the moment, Planas has not opened the door to the Spanish government studying possible compensation for affected farmers and is leaving the matter in the hands of the European Commission: "We are waiting for the affected farmers' files to be processed so that we can send them to the European Commission, because there is direct aid available for that," the minister said.