Authorities in Germany have said that a second suspected case of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) has been ruled out following negative test results.
The new suspected case had been notified in the district of Barnim on Wednesday (January 15), after animals were found with symptoms that indicated a possible infection with FMD.
Barnim Council confirmed (Friday, January 17) today that the results of the samples taken from the animals were now available.
The council said that the findings of both the state laboratory and the National Reference Laboratory (FLI) show that the suspected case has not been confirmed.
Foot-and-mouth
Last week, authorities in Germany confirmed the first outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) in the country since 1988.
The outbreak was confirmed in water buffalo in the state of Brandenburg, which is situated in the north-east of Germany.
The outbreak occurred in the district of Markisch-Oderland, which borders Poland and stretches to the outskirts of the capital Berlin.
District administrator in Barnim Daniel Kurth said that “despite this good news, the situation remains tense”.
“Numerous samples that have been taken in the past few days and are still to be taken still need to be evaluated. The situation is also still highly sensitive,” he said.
Due to the continued risk posed by the disease in the neighboring district of Markisch Oderland, Kurth advised that extreme caution is still required.
The Barnim district is maintaining strict monitoring and protection measures in order to detect a possible outbreak at an early stage and prevent it from spreading.
Animal owners in the restricted zone, within a 10kn radius of the outbreak site, are still being urged to report any abnormalities to officials.
The activity bans listed there for animal owners and farmers in the protection and surveillance zone applies until the general animal disease control order is lifted, even if the state’s emergency ordinance (ban on movement) is not extended again.
German authorities said that the measures to combat FMD are continuing unabated in the affected areas.
Today, additional farms in the surveillance zone will be clinically examined and samples taken.
