Foot-and-mouth disease in the neighbouring countries: 24 border crossings closed

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Foot-and-mouth disease has been causing a stir in Austria for days, especially in Burgenland and Lower Austria. 24 border crossings to Slovakia and Hungary have had to be closed, epidemic carpets have been laid out at the borders, and thousands of vehicles have been checked.

The foot-and-mouth disease virus endangers cattle, pigs, goats, sheep, and deer. It is considered highly contagious for cloven-hoofed animals, and affected animals must be killed.

Fortunately, no positive cases have been reported in Lower Austria or Burgenland as of yesterday, Monday. A local inspection at the Kittsee border crossing in Burgenland showed that the measures have worked well so far and are also supported by the population. Kittsee is one of the border crossings that are still open, along with the Nickelsdorf highway and federal road crossing.

In the early morning hours, however, commuters had to be patient, and there were sometimes long waiting times. In Kittsee, for example, commuters were stuck in traffic jams on the northeast highway (A6) for up to 75 minutes, according to the ÖAMTC. However, most commuters reacted with understanding. As early as 9.30 a.m., the delays had quickly eased, said an ÖAMTC spokesperson.

When asked, the police said that the traffic jam at rush hour was less long than initially feared. “From our point of view, there was no major problem,” said Helmut Marban, police spokesman for the Burgenland Provincial Police Directorate. Early Monday morning, the waiting time at the Hungarian-Austrian border crossings in Klingenbach (Eisenstadt-Umgebung district) and Rattersdorf (Oberpullendorf district) peaked at just under an hour. In Nickelsdorf (district of Neusiedl am See), there was a wait of around 45 minutes for entry on the eastern highway (A4).

To prevent foot-and-mouth disease from reaching Austria, epidemic carpets were laid out at the border crossings. Disinfectant was applied to the six- to eight-meter-long carpets, and vehicles—mainly from Slovakia—passed through at a walking pace.

Austrian Armed Forces finish deployment

An employee of the Burgenland Building Directorate explains as he stands on the epidemic carpet in Kittsee that the carpets are re-saturated with disinfectant every two to three hours. There is a small queue of cars waiting to enter Austria. Among them is a vehicle from the Austrian Armed Forces. “We’re just on our way back,” says the young man in the passenger seat.

Since 26 March, 53 soldiers from the Austrian Armed Forces’ AFDRU disaster relief unit have been deployed in Slovakia. “Our soldiers are returning to Austria today, will maintain and refurbish their equipment, and will then be ready for further deployments,” the Ministry of Defense announced in a press release on Monday morning.