The Governor of Thessaly Dimitris Kouretas has called for a state of emergency to be declared in the region due to the critical situation with the plague epidemic in sheep and goats.
Addressing the management of UPAA, The regional governor is asking for a state of emergency to be declared immediately in Thessaly due to the serious situation caused by the plague of ruminants. The letter was sent to the Minister of Rural Development and Food Konstantinos Tsiaras with the notification of the Deputy Minister Chr. Kell and the Secretary General G. Stratakos. From the very beginning of the plague in the state of emergency of Trikala in the region of Thessaly, the Governor was on alert and was in constant cooperation with the competent ministry and the organizations of livestock breeders.
Peste des petits ruminants virus was first detected in Greece in goats and sheep in the Kalambaka areawith the number of cases reaching three in individual units of the district.
As reported earlier this week, sick animals are slaughtered and then dumped. The remaining, uninfected animals can be consumed by humans after the meat has been heat-treated as a preventative measure. Milk can be consumed after high pasteurization at 72 degrees.
At an emergency meeting chaired by Deputy Minister Christos Kella, the Secretary General of the Ministry of Agriculture and Food, Giorgos Stratakos, presented the ministry's operational plan to livestock farmers, demanding that all health protocols be faithfully implemented in order to isolate cases.
The National Center for Disease Control and the national expert group of the Ministry of Rural Development and Food, as well as the Local Center for Disease Control for the fight against the disease in the emergency. Larisa, were activated from 11.07.2024, as soon as the first case appeared in Kalambaka, as provided for in Article 7 of the Emergency Response Plan for Disease Control of Appendix I p.d. 138/1995 (A'88) (Government Decision 1747/386028/14.12.2023 B΄ 7121 of 18 December 2023), and the relevant instructions were immediately transmitted to the Local Center for Disease Control.
The necessary measures provided for in the above plan, as well as in the current legislation EU (Delegated Regulation (EU) 687/2020), are as follows:
- Activities in a contaminated farm (slaughter and sanitary burial of animals).
- Measures in the Larisa regional office.
- Delineation of protection and observation zones around the infected farm.
- Events in the above mentioned areas.
- Conducting epidemiological studies.
The virus of sheep plague is a zoonosis that survives in the atmosphere for 72 hours and is transmitted from animal to animal, but can be transmitted outside the premises through the transfer of milk. “An area becomes free of the plague virus when 30 days have passed since the last case.”
Rural Development and Food Minister Kostas Tsiaras on Friday, will go to Larissa, where he will hold further meetings with the regional governor Dimitris Kouretas and representatives of producers following a new case of peste des petits ruminants detected in goat and sheep farms in the municipality of Domenikos.
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