site.btaBulgarian Food Safety Agency Executive Director: Goat Plague in Velingrad Has Been Repeatedly Confirmed

It has been repeatedly confirmed that animals in Velingrad are carriers of a virus, the Executive Director of the Bulgarian Food Safety Agency (BFSA), Dr Svetlozar Patarinski, told bTV on Sunday. He spoke on the occasion of the outbreak of goat plague in a local breeding facility. 

At the moment, the outbreak of ovine rinderpest detected in Velingrad, concerns about 1,760 animals. They belong to five owners who are related - a father, two sons and two daughters-in-law, and the animals are kept together, Patarinski said.

"The infection spread, according to our information and research, more than 14 to 20 days ago. The animals were initially treated by three private-practice veterinarians sought out by the owners themselves. After they could not cope, the veterinarian who supervises the farms in question sought the help of the state veterinarian in Pazardzhik," Patarinski said. 

He said the disease is untreatable and is listed as a particularly dangerous contagious disease. "The measures for it are clearly spelled out in the legislation," he noted. He said the disease was dangerous because it was spreading and could be associated with significant economic losses as measures could be imposed by the European Commission on the whole country.

"[Bulgarian] Exports of milk and dairy products from small ruminants could be banned for the entire European Union," he said. "The disease is not dangerous for humans, but in order to eradicate this disease, the meat and dairy products originating from this outbreak should be disposed of," the expert added.

"The sooner this outbreak is closed, the sooner they [farm owners] can resume their activities," the BFSA executive director added. He assured that the farmers would be compensated for their losses according to the current legislation.