Foot-and-mouth disease: buffalo, pigs and sheep slaughtered in Germany

Caitríona Morrissey analyses what has been happening since foot-and-mouth disease was confirmed in Germany.

Caitríona Morrissey

11 January 2025

Foot-and-mouth disease: buffalo, pigs and sheep slaughtered in Germany

The carcase of a water buffalo is removed by a tractor at a farm in Hoppegarten near Berlin on 10 January 2025. . \ ODD ANDERSEN/AFP via Getty Images

What was the foot-and-mouth disease case in Germany?Three water buffalo in Hoppegarten, Märkisch-Oderland, Brandenburg, in northeastern Germany tested positive for foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) on Friday 10 January 2025.

What was the foot-and-mouth disease case in Germany?

Three water buffalo in Hoppegarten, Märkisch-Oderland, Brandenburg, in northeastern Germany tested positive for foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) on Friday 10 January 2025.

The cases were confirmed by the National Reference Laboratory for FMD at the Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut (FLI).

What kind of farm was it?

Locals told the Irish Farmers Journal that the buffalo were on a hobby farm in quite an intensive agriculture area just outside Berlin.

There is concern among farmers that FMD could spread to - and be spread by - wild animals. There is no risk to human health from FMD.

What action was taken?

The full herd of 11 water buffalo were slaughtered and, in addition, 200 pigs and four sheep within a 1km radius of the buffalo farm were also slaughtered.

There is a 3km exclusion zone in place and a 10km restricted zone in which no animal can be moved in or out, plus there are restrictions on selling beef and milk from animals within that zone.

What else?

A local law also dictates that no animal can be impregnated, either through artificial insemination or natural service, and no animal can be moved to market.

The agriculture industry in the area has moved to a state of high alert, with farmers within 40km being notified that they cannot slaughter their pigs until further notice.

They expect to be permitted to send pigs to slaughter by early next week, but under strict protocols.

What livestock links are there between Ireland and Germany?

The Irish Department of Agriculture has confirmed that no animals susceptible to FMD (ie cattle, sheep, pigs, etc) have been imported into Ireland from Germany since 1 November 2024, which is long before the case in Germany would have been first infected.

With the confirmed case in Germany, new restrictions will now be imposed on the imports of animals and animal products from there.

What's the link with bluetongue?

The FMD case in Germany was initially thought to be a case of bluetongue virus (BTV), the midge-borne virus which swept across Europe over the past two years and reached as far as Britain in late 2023.

It is believed that animal movement restrictions in place for BTV may now be considered somewhat of an early defence mechanism against the spread of FMD, although it remains to be seen whether more cases will emerge.

Where did it come from?

This is the first confirmed case of FMD in Germany for over 40 years - the last case being in the Lower Saxony region in 1988.

The last FMD outbreak in Europe was in Bulgaria in 2011 and, prior to that, the UK was hit by a major outbreak in 2001, followed by France, Ireland and the Netherlands.

Further testing is under way in Germany to determine the origin of that outbreak, with results due on Monday.

However, the laboratory that confirmed the case pointed out that FMD remains endemic in Turkey, the Middle East and Africa, many Asian countries and parts of South America, adding that illegally imported animal products from these countries pose a constant threat to European agriculture.

Foot-and-mouth disease: what you need to know