Foot-and-mouth disease outbreak in Hungary and Slovakia: this is what needs to be considered now

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At the open border crossings in Burgenland, epidemic carpets are deployed.

While the Austrian Armed Forces began an assistance mission in Burgenland on Friday evening to ward off the foot-and-mouth disease outbreak in Hungary and Slovakia – including the construction of so-called epidemic carpets – the Ministry of Health has published a new ordinance with further measures.

The new ordinance from the Ministry of Health:

The existing import ban on fresh meat, raw milk, venison, and hunting trophies will be extended to include straw and plant-based animal feed from affected countries.

All livestock farms are “required to implement enhanced biosecurity measures, including measures to clean and disinfect vehicles.”

Farms are obliged to keep records of visits by people from outside the farm. Animals may not be moved out of the extended restricted zone. An exception is only permitted with a negative test result and official approval. “State authorities may stop and disinfect vehicles”, the ordinance continues.

Important: The measures apply until May 20 for the time being!

In accordance with EU law, monitoring and extended restricted zones have already been established in Austria. According to the Ministry of Health, all animals from a total of eight farms in the surveillance zone have been tested so far. Testing will be repeated weekly until 20 May, which corresponds to the incubation period of the virus. In the extended restricted zone, 104 farms have been visited and sampled; all samples analyzed so far have been negative. Further samples are still being analyzed. Within the past week, there have been four suspected cases within the zones; all samples were negative.

23 border crossings closed since midnight

As a further measure, 21 smaller border crossing points in northern and central Burgenland and two in Lower Austria were closed at midnight sharp. The closure is initially valid until 20 May. In Burgenland, this includes Baumgarten-Sopron, Neckenmarkt-Harka, and Deutsch Jahrndorf-Rajka.

However, larger border crossings such as Nickelsdorf-Hegyeshalom, Pamhagen-Fertöd, Klingenbach-Sopron, and St. Margarethen-Sopronköhida are still open. On Friday, the first epidemic carpets soaked in disinfectant were laid out at these to prevent the spread of foot-and-mouth disease by cars entering the country. Due to these measures, delays in entry are to be expected.

The state has also called in the Austrian army for an assistance mission. The soldiers will be deployed at the highway border crossings near Kittsee and Nickelsdorf. Soldiers are already helping with decontamination measures in Slovakia.

Further information

In Lower Austria, in addition to the ferry in Angern an der March and the Schloss Hof cycle bridge, the Marchegg pedestrian and cycle bridge has also been closed. The provincial police directorate is carrying out security checks. Closed border crossings, in contrast to border controls at open crossings, would be less personnel-intensive and carried out “with varying degrees of strength and intensity,” according to St. Pölten.

The carpet of epidemics is also in Lower Austria. The state said on Friday that epidemic carpets were laid at the open border crossings in Hohenau (district of Gänserndorf) and Berg (district of Bruck an der Leitha), which are managed by the Lower Austrian road service. The aim is to prevent the spread of foot-and-mouth disease by road as far as possible.

Appeal: Postpone non-urgent trips

The population is being appealed to postpone non-urgent trips to Hungary or Slovakia. Two new outbreaks of the disease were reported in Hungary this week.