Foot-and-mouth disease outbreak in Central Europe leads to animal culls and border closures
LEVÉL: Authorities in several countries in Central Europe are working to contain an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease among cattle populations that has caused widespread border closures and required the killing of thousands of animals.
The outbreak was first detected on a cattle farm in northwestern Hungary in early March, and animals on three farms in neighboring Slovakia tested positive for the highly transmissible virus two weeks later.
Since then, animals from an additional three farms in Hungary and another three in Slovakia have tested positive for the virus, the first outbreak of the disease in either country in more than half a century.
'Everything is completely upside down' in the area as farmers fear for their own herds and transportation is disrupted by border closures, said Sándor Szoboszlai, a local entrepreneur and hunter in the Hungarian town of Levél where nearly 3,000 cattle had to be culled after the disease was discovered on a farm.
'We didn't even think such a thing could happen. Who could count on that? Nobody,' he said. 'There are big farms in the area, but I don't think it was the fault of the animal owners, that's for sure. The wind blew it here.'
Foot-and-mouth disease primarily affects cloven-hooved animals like cattle, sheep, goats, pigs and deer, and results in fevers and blisters in the mouth and hooves. The virus spreads through contact between animals, or on surfaces like clothing, skin and vehicles, or on the wind. It poses little danger to humans.
On Friday, authorities in Hungary continued to conduct operations aimed at stopping the spread of the disease and disinfecting affected farms and vehicles in the area. Mats doused in a powerful disinfectant were placed at the entrances and exits of towns and villages across the region to eliminate virus molecules that may cling to tires — though many of those mats quickly went dry and were swept partially off the road by passing vehicles.
This week, the Slovakian government, citing insufficient containment measures by Hungary, closed 16 of their common borders and one with Austria, all of them lesser-trafficked crossings so authorities can focus on conducting border checks at the major ones. Last week, Austria — where there have been no reported cases — closed 23 of its border crossings with Hungary and Slovakia.
Authorities in the Czech Republic, relatively distant from the Hungarian and Slovakian farms where the disease has been detected, have introduced disinfection measures at all the five border crossings used by freight trucks entering the country.
Jiri Cerny, associate professor at the Czech University of Life Sciences in Prague, said the most significant risk of transmission is 'through contaminated human objects' such as 'tires and cars, on the soles of shoes, and through contaminated food.' The Czech Agriculture Minister, Marek Výborný, has said the restrictions could be lifted 30 days after the last farm animal infected with foot-and-mouth disease has been culled in Slovakia.
No new infections have been discovered in Hungary this week, and the cleanup of the last infected farms will likely be completed on Saturday, István Nagy, Hungary's agricultural minister said on Friday.
Earlier this week, a Hungarian official said in a news conference that the foot-and-mouth disease outbreak may have been caused by 'an artificially produced virus.'
Without citing specific evidence to back his claims, Gergely Gulyás, chief of staff to Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, said it couldn't be ruled out that the disease had been released in Hungary as a 'biological attack,' adding that the suspicion was based on verbal statements from a laboratory in a foreign country that had begun initial analysis of viral samples.
Hungary's government has promised to institute a loan payment moratorium for affected farmers, and to help compensate them for the loss of their animals and assist in developing measures on farms to prevent future outbreaks.
Szoboszlai, the hunter in Levél, choked up when speaking about the local farmer who had to cull his entire herd when the virus appeared, saying the situation was 'terrible.'
'I feel so sorry for him, because this is his life's work,' he said. 'It will be very difficult to start over.'
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Arab News
12-04-2025
- Arab News
Foot-and-mouth disease outbreak in Central Europe leads to animal culls and border closures
LEVÉL: Authorities in several countries in Central Europe are working to contain an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease among cattle populations that has caused widespread border closures and required the killing of thousands of animals. The outbreak was first detected on a cattle farm in northwestern Hungary in early March, and animals on three farms in neighboring Slovakia tested positive for the highly transmissible virus two weeks later. Since then, animals from an additional three farms in Hungary and another three in Slovakia have tested positive for the virus, the first outbreak of the disease in either country in more than half a century. 'Everything is completely upside down' in the area as farmers fear for their own herds and transportation is disrupted by border closures, said Sándor Szoboszlai, a local entrepreneur and hunter in the Hungarian town of Levél where nearly 3,000 cattle had to be culled after the disease was discovered on a farm. 'We didn't even think such a thing could happen. Who could count on that? Nobody,' he said. 'There are big farms in the area, but I don't think it was the fault of the animal owners, that's for sure. The wind blew it here.' Foot-and-mouth disease primarily affects cloven-hooved animals like cattle, sheep, goats, pigs and deer, and results in fevers and blisters in the mouth and hooves. The virus spreads through contact between animals, or on surfaces like clothing, skin and vehicles, or on the wind. It poses little danger to humans. On Friday, authorities in Hungary continued to conduct operations aimed at stopping the spread of the disease and disinfecting affected farms and vehicles in the area. Mats doused in a powerful disinfectant were placed at the entrances and exits of towns and villages across the region to eliminate virus molecules that may cling to tires — though many of those mats quickly went dry and were swept partially off the road by passing vehicles. This week, the Slovakian government, citing insufficient containment measures by Hungary, closed 16 of their common borders and one with Austria, all of them lesser-trafficked crossings so authorities can focus on conducting border checks at the major ones. Last week, Austria — where there have been no reported cases — closed 23 of its border crossings with Hungary and Slovakia. Authorities in the Czech Republic, relatively distant from the Hungarian and Slovakian farms where the disease has been detected, have introduced disinfection measures at all the five border crossings used by freight trucks entering the country. Jiri Cerny, associate professor at the Czech University of Life Sciences in Prague, said the most significant risk of transmission is 'through contaminated human objects' such as 'tires and cars, on the soles of shoes, and through contaminated food.' The Czech Agriculture Minister, Marek Výborný, has said the restrictions could be lifted 30 days after the last farm animal infected with foot-and-mouth disease has been culled in Slovakia. No new infections have been discovered in Hungary this week, and the cleanup of the last infected farms will likely be completed on Saturday, István Nagy, Hungary's agricultural minister said on Friday. Earlier this week, a Hungarian official said in a news conference that the foot-and-mouth disease outbreak may have been caused by 'an artificially produced virus.' Without citing specific evidence to back his claims, Gergely Gulyás, chief of staff to Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, said it couldn't be ruled out that the disease had been released in Hungary as a 'biological attack,' adding that the suspicion was based on verbal statements from a laboratory in a foreign country that had begun initial analysis of viral samples. Hungary's government has promised to institute a loan payment moratorium for affected farmers, and to help compensate them for the loss of their animals and assist in developing measures on farms to prevent future outbreaks. Szoboszlai, the hunter in Levél, choked up when speaking about the local farmer who had to cull his entire herd when the virus appeared, saying the situation was 'terrible.' 'I feel so sorry for him, because this is his life's work,' he said. 'It will be very difficult to start over.'
Arab News
07-10-2024
- Arab News
Don't expect human life expectancy to grow much more, researcher says
Don't expect human life expectancy to grow much more, researcher says /node/2574340/offbeat Topics: Human life lifespan Nobel Prize in medicine honors two Americans for discovery of microRNA /node/2574263/offbeat Nobel Prize in medicine honors two Americans for discovery of microRNA Updated 07 October 2024 October 07, 2024 10:01 Nobel Prize in medicine honors two Americans for discovery of microRNA The Nobel Assembly said Monday that their discovery is 'proving to be fundamentally important for how organisms develop and function' Updated 07 October 2024 AP October 07, 2024 10:01 STOCKHOLM: The Nobel Prize in medicine was awarded Monday to Americans Victor Ambros and Gary Ruvkun for their discovery of microRNA, a fundamental principle governing how gene activity is regulated. The Nobel Assembly said that their discovery is 'proving to be fundamentally important for how organisms develop and function.' Ambros performed the research that led to his prize at Harvard University. He is currently a professor of natural science at the University of Massachusetts Medical School. Ruvkun's research was performed at Massachusetts General Hospital and the Harvard Medical School, where he's a professor of genetics, said Thomas Perlmann, Secretary-General of the Nobel Committee. Perlmann said he spoke to Ruvkun by phone shortly before the announcement. 'It took a long time before he came to the phone and sounded very tired, but he quite rapidly, was quite excited and happy, when he understood what, it was all about,' Perlmann said. Last year, the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine went to Hungarian-American Katalin Karikó and American Drew Weissman for discoveries that enabled the creation of mRNA vaccines against COVID-19 that were critical in slowing the pandemic. The prize carries a cash award of 11 million Swedish kronor ($1 million) from a bequest left by the prize's creator, Swedish inventor Alfred Nobel. The announcement launched this year's Nobel prizes award season. Nobel announcements continue with the physics prize on Tuesday, chemistry on Wednesday and literature on Thursday. The Nobel Peace Prize will be announced Friday and the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences on Oct. 14. The laureates are invited to receive their awards at ceremonies on Dec. 10, the anniversary of Nobel's death. Sardinia's sheep farmers battle bluetongue as climate warms /node/2574231/offbeat Sardinia's sheep farmers battle bluetongue as climate warms Updated 07 October 2024 October 07, 2024 05:21 Sardinia's sheep farmers battle bluetongue as climate warms Some 20,000 sheep have died so far this year on the island, which is home to nearly half Italy's flock and plays an important role in the production of famed Italian cheeses such as Pecorino Updated 07 October 2024 AFP October 07, 2024 05:21 ARBUS: The sheep huddle together, bleeding from the nose, aborting lambs or suffocating on saliva as they succumb to bluetongue, a virus sweeping through flocks on the Italian island of Sardinia. Some 20,000 sheep have died so far this year on the island, which is home to nearly half Italy's flock and plays an important role in the production of famed Italian cheeses such as Pecorino. It is another blow for farmers in a region already battered by a drought aggravated by man-made climate change — which experts say is also fueling the spread of bluetongue and longer outbreaks. 'The virus hit about two and a half months earlier than usual,' 39-year-old farmer Michela Dessi told AFP as she scanned her flock for panting or limping sheep in her fields in Arbus in western Sardinia. Bluetongue does not present any risks to humans but in animals it causes swollen heads, high fevers, mouth ulcers, difficulty swallowing and breathing, and can turn an infected animal's tongue blue. It is transmitted between animals by biting midges. While cattle, goats and deer can get it too, sheep are the most severely affected, according to the World Organization for Animal Health (WOAH). Infected and pregnant ewes abort or their lambs are born deformed, and survivors can lose their wool. Sunken sides are a sign the ewes are carrying dead fetuses. The sick animals struggle to expel them. The infection rate this year on Dessi's farm is about 60 percent, and some 30 percent of her sheep have aborted. Around 50 of her 650 sheep have died — and in a way she said was 'horrible to watch.' With high fevers, 'they refuse food and water and some suffocate or drown in their own saliva,' she said, adding that it is illegal to euthanize them. Nearly 3,000 outbreaks have been recorded so far this year in Sardinia, compared to 371 last year — and the end is not yet in sight. Bluetongue used to peak in Sardinia in August but has done so as late as November in recent years, according to the region's veterinary research institute (IZS). 'Climatic conditions heavily influence midge populations,' the animal health division at the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization in Rome told AFP. They affect 'their biting behavior and the speed of development of the virus, with climate change likely driving the virus's expansion... and contributing to larger outbreaks.' Cases have been reported this year in other European countries, from neighboring France to Portugal, Spain, Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands. Bluetongue has been present in Sardinia since 2000 but Italy's farming lobby Coldiretti says authorities are too slow each year to vaccinate the island's flocks. The costs of failing to rein it in are high. A University of Bologna study last year found the 2017 outbreak, which killed 34,500 sheep, cost an estimated 30 million euros ($33 million). That included damages suffered by farms — deaths, reduced milk yields, infertility, abortions — costs to animal health authorities and subventions paid by the region to affected farms. 'The first outbreaks occur in the same at-risk areas each year,' meaning highly targeted measures could theoretically prevent outbreaks, said Stefano Cappai from research institute IZS. There are three variants on the island this year, two of which can be vaccinated against, with mortality rates twice as high among unvaccinated sheep. Flocks should be vaccinated in March or April, Cappai said, but vaccines were only issued by the region in mid-June this year. By that point, the virus had begun to spread unchecked. Even if the vaccines had been made available earlier, some farmers fear to use them. Others only vaccinate part of their flock, which means they fail to reach herd immunity, Cappai said. And some farmers — like Dessi — vaccinated her flock, only for the sheep to catch the variant for which there is no vaccine yet. Battista Cualbu, head of Coldiretti in Sardinia, who also has an outbreak on his farm, said vaccines are not enough and authorities must disinfect areas and provide midge repellents. 'It would certainly save public money because the region has to pay compensation for dead livestock (and) lost income,' he said, including less milk sold and fewer lambs for the slaughterhouse. Compensation is set at 150 euros per sheep killed by bluetongue — a figure Coldiretti is battling to increase, although the region has failed to pay up over the past three years, Dessi said. As temperatures fall, the case numbers are expected to decline but Dessi said the end was weeks away. 'I've dug three mass graves already and I fear the worst is still to come,' she said. Survivor of rare rapid-aging disease progeria dies at 28 /node/2574188/offbeat Survivor of rare rapid-aging disease progeria dies at 28 Sammy Basso. (Twitter @SammyBasso) Updated 06 October 2024 October 06, 2024 21:55 Survivor of rare rapid-aging disease progeria dies at 28 Born in 1995 in Schio, in the northern Italian region of Veneto, Basso was diagnosed with progeria at the age of two. In 2005, he and his parents founded the Italian Progeria Association Updated 06 October 2024 Reuters October 06, 2024 21:55 MILAN: Sammy Basso, who was the longest living survivor of the rare genetic disease progeria, has died at the age of 28, the Italian Progeria Association said on Sunday. Progeria, also known as Hutchinson–Gilford syndrome, causes people to age rapidly, leading them to appear older than they are, with a reduced quality of life and a life expectancy of only 13.5 years without treatment, the association's website said. It affects one in every 8 million people born, and has a worldwide incidence of one in every 20 million. Born in 1995 in Schio, in the northern Italian region of Veneto, Basso was diagnosed with progeria at the age of two. In 2005, he and his parents founded the Italian Progeria Association. He became famous through the National Geographic documentary 'Sammy's Journey,' which recounts his journey along Route 66 in the United States, from Chicago to Los Angeles, with his parents and one of his best friends, Riccardo. 'Today our light, our guide, has gone out. Thank you Sammy for making us part of this wonderful life,' the association wrote on its Instagram page. There are only 130 recognized cases of classic progeria worldwide, of which four are in Italy. However, the Italian Progeria Association estimated there could be as many as 350 cases as they can be difficult to trace especially in developing countries. 'Russian spy' whale likely died of infection: Norway police /node/2573905/offbeat 'Russian spy' whale likely died of infection: Norway police Updated 04 October 2024 October 04, 2024 08:28 'Russian spy' whale likely died of infection: Norway police Animal rights' organizations NOAH and One Whale claimed the whale had been shot dead and filed a police report Updated 04 October 2024 AFP October 04, 2024 08:28 OSLO: A beluga whale found dead in Norway in August, suspected by some of being a Russian spy, probably died of an infection and not gunshot wounds, Norwegian police said Friday. Nicknamed 'Hvaldimir' in a pun on the Norwegian word for whale ('hval') and its purported ties to Moscow, the white beluga first appeared off the coast in Norway's far-northern Finnmark region in 2019 and quickly became a celebrity in the country. He was found dead on August 31 in a bay on Norway's southwestern coast. Animal rights' organizations NOAH and One Whale claimed the whale had been shot dead and filed a police report. The Norwegian Veterinary Institute conducted an autopsy and found a 35-centimeter (14-inch) stick lodged in his mouth. 'The report concluded that the probable cause of death was a bacterial infection, possibly a result of wounds in his mouth caused by a stick that got stuck,' police official Amund Preede Revheim said in a statement on Friday. 'The stick may also have made it difficult for Hvaldimir to eat, thereby increasing the risk of infection,' he added. Police said they had found no trace of bullets and had decided not to open an investigation. 'There is nothing in the examinations that suggests Hvaldimir was killed illegally,' Preede Revheim said. When Hvaldimir was found in 2019, Norwegian marine biologists removed a man-made harness with a mount suited for an action camera and the words 'Equipment St. Petersburg' printed in English on the plastic clasps. The whale appeared to be accustomed to humans. Norwegian officials said the whale might have escaped an enclosure and been trained by the Russian navy. Moscow has never made any official response to claims the whale could be a 'Russian spy.' Stranded killer whales make their way to sea in Russia /node/2573891/offbeat Stranded killer whales make their way to sea in Russia Updated 04 October 2024 October 04, 2024 05:35
Asharq Al-Awsat
07-10-2024
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Nobel Prize in Medicine Honors Two Americans for Discovery of MicroRNA
The Nobel Prize in medicine was awarded Monday to Americans Victor Ambros and Gary Ruvkun for their discovery of microRNA, a fundamental principle governing how gene activity is regulated. The Nobel Assembly said that their discovery is 'proving to be fundamentally important for how organisms develop and function.' Ambrose performed the research that led to his prize at Harvard University. He is currently a professor of natural science at the University of Massachusetts Medical School. Rackham's research was performed at Massachusetts General Hospital and the Harvard Medical School, where he's a professor of genetics, said Thomas Perlmann, Secretary-General of the Nobel Committee. Last year, the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine went to Hungarian-American Katalin Karikó and American Drew Weissman for discoveries that enabled the creation of mRNA vaccines against COVID-19 that were critical in slowing the pandemic. The prize carries a cash award of 11 million Swedish kronor ($1 million) from a bequest left by the prize's creator, Swedish inventor Alfred Nobel. The announcement launched this year's Nobel prizes award season. Nobel announcements continue with the physics prize on Tuesday, chemistry on Wednesday and literature on Thursday. The Nobel Peace Prize will be announced Friday and the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences on Oct. 14. The laureates are invited to receive their awards at ceremonies on Dec. 10, the anniversary of Nobel's death.
