Academic community supports the actions of MAF and BFSA against viral lumpy skin disease

Academic community supports action preventing the spread of the infectious lumpy skin disease (LSD), which the Ministry of Agriculture and Food and the Bulgarian Food Safety Agency have taken so far and consider them correct. This became clear at a meeting initiated by  the MAF and BFSA with representatives of the veterinary scientific community - Veterinary Medicine Faculty  at the  Trakia University in Stara Zagora, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Forestry -Sofia, Risk Assessment Center, National Diagnostic Research Veterinary Medical Institute, section "Exotic and especially dangerous infections "and Bulgarian Veterinary Union. Minister of Agriculture and Food Desislava Taneva explained that the reason to hold the meeting is to present the measures taken so far by the state as well as proposals to complement the measures to be heard if necessary.

 

Dr. Tsvyatko Alexandrov from the BFSA’s " Animal Health and Welfare And Feed Controls’ Directorate presented epizootic situation in the country, measures taken to limit the disease as well as the measures and epidemiological situation in Greece and Turkey, where  outbreaks of the disease were also detected. Everybody supported and adopted the decision of MAF and BFSA a vaccination against the disease to be carried out. The plan includes vaccination of all cattle in Haskovo, Stara Zagora, Sliven, Yambol, Plovdiv and all southern municipalities in the districts of Burgas, Kardzhali, Smolyanand and Blagoevgrad. " Dr. Georgi Chobanov, director of Animal Health and Welfare And Feed Controls’ Directorate at the BFSA explained that Bulgaria has already  asked the European Commission for quantities of vaccine and the Commission will be notified for the vaccination.

 

"We are working closely with the Ministry of Interior. They help us to strengthen the control of movement of animals in the country, “said Dr. Damyan Iliev, CEO of the BFSA. In his words, the risk of unauthorized transportation of infected animals was great .Therefore the measures taken were uncompromising.

 

"We strongly support the measures taken by the BFSA in relation to identification of the disease outbreaks and consider them correct, as opposed to those taken to limit the bluetongue disease," said Dr Trifon Tsvetkov, chairman of the Supervisory Board of the Bulgarian Veterinary Union.