Germany regains foot and mouth disease–free status without vaccination

The World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) has restored Germany’s status as free of foot and mouth disease without vaccination, lifting all trade restrictions in the Brandenburg and Berlin containment zone. Brandenburg Agriculture Minister Hanka Mittelstädt hailed the OIE decision as good news for livestock owners in Brandenburg and throughout Germany. “This success is the result of proven crisis management and constant animal disease surveillance,” she said.

Mittelstädt warned of the ongoing risk of the disease re entering the country—particularly via travel, food or animal transport—a threat heightened by recent outbreaks in Slovakia and Hungary. She urged farmers to adhere strictly to biosecurity measures, Eurocarne reported.