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HAMBURG — German officials breathed a cautious sigh of relief this week as extensive testing revealed no additional cases of foot-and-mouth disease following last week's alarming discovery - the country's first outbreak in decades among a herd of water buffalo near Berlin.
The Brandenburg State Agriculture Ministry reported that rigorous examinations of livestock within a 1-kilometer radius of the initial infection site showed no further spread of the contagious animal illness. "While this is encouraging news, we're maintaining all containment protocols," a ministry spokesperson stated, noting that animal transport restrictions remain in effect until at least Wednesday.
This recent case marks Germany's first confrontation with foot-and-mouth disease since 1988, according to records from the Friedrich-Loeffler Institute (FLI), the nation's premier animal health research center. The FLI notes that while Europe has largely eradicated the disease, it remains prevalent across parts of Asia, Africa, South America and the Middle East.
The outbreak has triggered immediate international repercussions. The United Kingdom swiftly imposed import bans on German pork and various dairy products - a significant economic blow given Britain imported over 117,000 metric tons of German pork worth £448 million (approximately S$747 million) in just the first ten months of 2024.
"A single confirmed case fundamentally changes our export landscape," explained a spokesperson from Germany's Federal Agriculture Ministry. The country automatically loses its "foot-and-mouth-disease-free" status under World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) guidelines, potentially freezing meat and dairy exports to non-EU nations until containment is verified.
Foot-and-mouth disease presents severe symptoms including fever and painful mouth lesions in cloven-hoofed animals like cattle, pigs and sheep. While not dangerous to humans historically required mass culling to control outbreaks due to its extreme contagiousness among livestock populations.
The infected water buffalo herd remains under strict quarantine as investigators work to determine how long-dormant virus reappeared after nearly four decades absence from German soil. Authorities emphasize that current measures focus on preventing any potential spread beyond initial containment zone surrounding farm outskirts Berlin region Brandenburg where case was confirmed Friday January11th .
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