Thirty-seven years later, foot-and-mouth disease returns to Germany

Germany has seen a resurgence of foot-and-mouth disease after a 37-year absence, with 14 water buffaloes in Hoopergarten testing positive, leading to the death of three. The Friedrich-Loeffler Institute confirmed the outbreak using rRT-PCR testing. In response, German authorities have implemented measures to prevent the disease from spreading, and their actions have prompted bans on imports from Germany of live animals and products capable of transmitting the virus to Argentina and South Korea.

The Friedrich-Loeffler Institute has confirmed the detection of foot-and-mouth disease in 14 water buffaloes in Germany in the town of Hoopergarten, in the district of Märkisch-Oderland, in the federal state of Brandenburg. This confirms the return of the disease to the Teutonic country after 37 years of absence since the previous outbreak was detected in 1988. The disease was detected in a group of 14 buffaloes of which three died. For its detection a real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction test (rRT-PCR) was applied. The relevant measures set out by the OMSA were taken by the German veterinary authorities to prevent the transmission of the disease to other animals. Among the countries that have adopted measures following the notification of this animal disease is Argentina, which has banned the import of live animals from Germany “of the import of goods capable of transmitting the foot-and-mouth disease virus from Germany and ordered the reinforcement of ...