EHE is a mosquito-borne disease that affects domestic and wild ruminants, but not humans.
Valencian cattle, sheep and goat farms are now prohibited from moving live animals to other EU countries
Agriculture has confirmed a focus on wild deer in Ayora
The Ministry of Agriculture has confirmed the detection of an outbreak of epizootic haemorrhagic disease (EHE) in wild deer in the Ayora Valley. This has been reported by the ministry after the analyzes carried out at the Algete Central Veterinary Laboratory (LCV), which confirmed another 14 new outbreaks of this disease in the last week in other parts of Spain, a dozen on bovine farms; and that of Ayora and two others, in wild deer as reported by EFEAgro yesterday.
The EHE is a infectious disease affecting domestic and wild ruminantsbut not to humans, in fact, the disease It is not contagious even between animals since the virus that causes it is transmitted through the bite of a specific type of mosquitothe Culicoides spp.. According to Agriculture, the disease “seriously affects deer” and can also affect fallow deer and roe deer. Among cattle it can produce “moderate and self-limiting symptoms in a couple of weeks” while in sheep it is “susceptible to infection but little to clinical disease” and goats are not very susceptible to infection. With everything, “Not all infected animals develop the disease and many are asymptomatic or show very mild signs.” Deer that show clinical signs of infection may present with fever, weakness, inappetence, and loss of flight instinct. In less acute cases, weight loss may be observed.
It has been extended in nine months
is the first time that this infection was detected in Valencian territory. The virus has historically circulated in North America, Australia, Asia and Africa, but in November of last year it was detected for the first time in Spain. Since then, just nine months ago has spread throughout almost the entire national territory, generating losses in livestock (because it increases the mortality of animals) and, especially, complicating the export of live animals.
In fact, from the Union of Small Farmers and Ranchers, UPA, has asked before the “growing” concern among businessmen that this disease is classified as “livestock sanitation” because “it is causing complications and economic losses”, since there are cases of mortality in cattle as well as a drop in production.
Forbidden to move live animals in the EU
In fact, the fact that this outbreak has been reported (even in wild animals) means that the three provinces of the Valencian Community enter the list of areas with restrictions on moving cattle, sheep and goats (alive and not going to the slaughterhouse) to other countries of the European Union. Along with C. Valenciana, the farms located in Andalusia, Extremadura, Castilla-La Mancha, the Autonomous Community of Madrid, the Region of Murcia, Castilla y León in the provinces of Ávila, Salamanca, Segovia, Soria, Valladolid are on this list. and Zamora; and the province of Teruel, in Aragon.
These animals yes they can move within Spain although, if they go to areas where the virus has not yet been detected, they must be carried in disinfected vehicles and without the bovine cattle showing clinical signs of the disease, among other restrictions.
The regulation does not mark restrictions, however, to transport or consume products of these animals (such as meat, milk, skin…etc), since EHE is not a disease that affects humans.
Mosquito Plans
As has already happened after detecting two cases of West Nile Fever in horses (in addition to the first in a person), the Ministry of Agriculture has decided to strengthen the preventive measures provided for in the Annual Animal Health Plan to reduce the risk of the appearance of new cases and protect livestock farms in the Valencian Community. Thus, as has been done for West Nile Fever, Agriculture requires from now on all cattle farms to have a disinsection plan in their facilities. This is specified in the modification of the annual plan that Agriculture published last Tuesday.
According to the final text of the regulations, bovine farms throughout the Valencian Community are going to have to periodically disinfect during the entire period of mosquito activity, which is about nine months from April to the end of November. In the case of sheep and goat farms, they must also have this plan in the case of having received ruminants from areas restricted by EHE, if they are within a radius of 150 kilometers from the detected case.