Foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) is a severe and highly contagious viral disease affecting livestock, with major economic implications. It primarily affects cattle, pigs, camelids, sheep, goats, and other cloven-hoofed ruminants. As a transboundary animal disease, FMD significantly disrupts livestock production and hampers regional and international trade in animals and animal products.
Veterinarians and livestock keepers and traders are strongly encouraged to remain vigilant and report any suspected cases of this highly infectious disease immediately. The World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) has published infographics highlighting how to recognise FMD and the 3 key principles to protect from FMD.
Germany
- On Friday, 10 January 2025, Germany reported an outbreak of FMD in Brandenburg involving three water buffaloes, all of which died. Laboratory analysis identified the virus as FMD serotype O. Genetic sequencing revealed the closest match to a strain previously detected in Türkiye in December 2024, and earlier in countries such as Iran, India, and Nepal.
- Germany regained its FMD Freedom of Disease Status without vaccination on 12 March 2025, except for a small containment zone where disease control measures will remain in place until at least 11 April 2025.
Hungary
- On Friday 7 March 2025, Hungary confirmed a case of FMD at a dairy cattle farm housing 1,400 animals near the Slovakian border. Clinical signs were observed in a group of heifers. Both the National Reference Laboratory and the EU Reference Laboratory for FMD identified the virus as serotype O, with the closest sequence being from Pakistan in 2018.
- In response, the European Commission adopted Commission Implementing Decision (EU) 2025/496 on Monday, March 11th 2025, introducing interim emergency measures. These included immediate containment, disease control actions, and enhanced surveillance.
- Hungary confirmed a second outbreak on Wednesday, 26 March 2025, in a dairy farm with over 3,000 cattle. Authorities initiated suppressive vaccination for the entire herd, followed by culling as part of the containment strategy.
- Hungary confirmed 2 other outbreaks in Győr-Moson-Sopron County, Hungary, in a farm with 1,000 and 2,500 animals. Further details are available on the Hungarian nébih website.
Slovakia
- Since Friday, 21st March 2025, Slovakia reported multiple FMD outbreaks on farms near its border with Hungary and Austria. As of now, six holdings have been affected.
- Depopulation is ongoing, the ban on export of live susceptible animals from whole Bratislavský, Trnavský and Nitriansky region is in place, it is allowed to send live susceptible animals from the free part of Slovakia to the slaughterhouses within the EU, transit with susceptible animals towards Hungary is possible exclusively through the ŠahyParassapuszta border crossing.
Austria is not affected but has closed off two dozen border crossing with Hungary and Slovakia. The Slovakian surveillance zone encompasses four Austrian municipalities, which were all initially sampling and tested negative. Awareness campaigns and webinars were launched, and the few open border crossings are controlled by the armed forces and require cars and pedestrians to cross over an epidemic rug to prevent the virus from spreading.
Further Information
For more details on the FMD outbreaks in Europe, please visit the European Commission (EC) website. The EC also communicated the chronology of the main event and listed the decision they adopted.
If you want to know more about FMD, FVE’s repertoire includes several interesting resources:
- The European Commission for the Control of Foot-and-Mouth Disease (EuFMD) website
- WOAH’s Q&A on Foot and Mouth Disease
- EU’s Foot and Mouth Disease Q&A and Factsheet
- EuFMD Guidelines for biosecure entry-exit during a foot-and-mouth disease investigation
- EuFMD Guidelines for developing and emergency vaccination plan for FMD disease in free countries
- The EuFMD Virtual Learning website
- Podcast from Jeroen Dewulf (EuFMD): Emergency preparedness and response
- Airborne Transmission of Foot-and-Mouth Disease Virus: A Review of Past and Present Perspectives
- WOAH’s Biosecurity guidelines for traders
