Hungarian Agriculture Minister István Nagy has assessed the measures taken to combat foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) as effective.
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In his report to the National Assembly’s Agricultural Committee on Tuesday, he said that if there are no new infections, then immunity can be announced on May 30, and the European Union restrictions imposed on Hungary can be lifted on June 30.
István Nagy noted that the incubation period of the virus is two weeks, so if there are “no new outbreaks†by the weekend, then “we can practically say that Hungary is free of the contagious foot-and-mouth disease virus.â€
At the same time, he warned that they must continue to work very hard, and that, given the news from Slovakia, “we cannot let our guard down,†but must do everything possible to prevent the African swine fever virus from entering Hungary.
In his report, the Minister assessed that the infected animals had been slaughtered in accordance with the strictest safety regulations and with the utmost discipline, that the police had been deployed to guard the farms, and that the army’s chemical defense unit had assisted in the disinfection.
Nagy recalled that the virus and the epidemic affected the county of Győr-Moson-Sopron (northwestern Hungary), and due to the long distance, it was not possible to transport the carcasses to the animal crematorium in Solt, Bács-Kiskun county (central Hungary).
Therefore, the internationally approved solution was adopted to bury the animals in safe conditions, he said, emphasizing that the work of the operational staff was very difficult, as there was no settlement in Hungary that would have welcomed this.
"The operational team therefore decided that burials would take place at sites that had been designated for this purpose for decades; all such sites were checked, tested, and documented from a geological and hydrological point of view to ensure that the animals could be disposed of safely and practically through bio-composting," he explained.
He added that the pits were dug to a depth of seven meters, with the groundwater level two to three meters below that.
He acknowledged, however, that the destruction of the animals caused the greatest social discontent, and that they also had to contend with people wanting to stir up hysteria about it or wanting to show scenes that would attract large audiences, without considering that the civilian population was not prepared for such a sight. ■