A third outbreak of lumpy skin disease has been detected on a farm in Alt Empordà.

BarcelonaThe Catalan government confirmed this Wednesday a third outbreak of lumpy skin disease (LSD, the disease that affects cattle) on a farm in Castelló d'Empúries. This brings the number of farms affected by the virus to three in Catalonia, all in the Alt Empordà region. Furthermore, the Catalan government's Department of Agriculture announced that it is postponing the start of animal vaccinations scheduled for this Wednesday by one day, until Thursday, due to problems with vaccine delivery.

The third outbreak was detected on a farm in the same municipality where the first cases were found, confirmed last week. The second outbreak occurred on a farm in Peralada, a neighboring municipality of Castelló d'Empúries.

According to the government, three sick animals were found on the third affected farm out of 262 head of cattle. In the first two outbreaks, as required by regulations, all animals on the affected farms were slaughtered (123 calves in the first case and 270 cows in the second), although only seven animals were affected between the two farms.

This past Tuesday, the Generalitat (Catalan government) approved a €4 million aid package for affected farmers. In addition, in a statement, it stated that the department offered "support" to the affected farmers, "including psychological support through the EMS (Medical Services).

NCD is a skin disease caused by a virus that affects cows, bulls, oxen, and calves, but has no impact on the health of humans or other animal species.

Vaccination postponed for one day

The Department of Agriculture announced on Tuesday that the vaccination campaign against lumpy skin disease would begin this Wednesday. The proximity of the three affected farms has led the Government to maintain that distance to vaccinate the animals, but it has had to postpone the start of vaccinations for one day due to delivery problems: "The vaccines for Catalonia were supposed to arrive on the same transport that carried a shipment to the south of France, but a logistical problem prevented this," the department said in a statement.

The Minister of Agriculture, Òscar Ordeig, has indicated that the Government has "everything ready to begin vaccination against lumpy skin disease" when the first doses arrive. The Government wants to immunize livestock on approximately 700 farms with 90,000 head of cattle located within a 50-kilometer radius of the first outbreak. However, the initial vaccination plan plans to vaccinate farms only 20 kilometers from the outbreak and move toward the outbreak.

"We are putting biosecurity and the spread of the disease at risk," added Ordeig, who asked citizens for cooperation to prevent the virus from spreading throughout the country and to avoid passing through unauthorized areas in the affected areas. "Right now, a disinfection process is underway, and it is very important to contain the three outbreaks and prevent the spread of the dermatosis, because it is highly contagious" among cattle, said the minister.