site.btaEU Reference Lab Confirms PPR-positive Results of Animals in Five Velingrad Farms

The European Union Reference Laboratory for Peste des Petits Ruminants (EURL-PPR) in Montpellier, France, has confirmed the positive results for ovine rinderpest of animals in five connected farms in Velingrad (Southern Bulgaria), the Bulgarian Food Safety Agency (BFSA) said at a news conference here on Monday. Attending were Deputy Agriculture and Food Minister Deyan Stratev, Chief Veterinary Sanitary Inspector Iliyan Kostov, BFSA Executive Director Svetlozar Patarinski and Deputy Director Valentin Atanassov, Dr Krassimir Kolev, a vet from Plovdiv (South Central Bulgaria), registered veterinarian Dr Alexander Kehayov, and official vet Dr Alexander Semerdzhiev.

Deputy Minister Stratev said that there is a protocol from Montpellier that fully confirms the results from the BFSA's lab: there is ovine rinderpest in the samples and antibodies. He showed the document signed by the EURL, noting that the virus detected in the herd in Velingrad is the same as that in Greece and Romania. The results from Montpellier show this is a wild virus.

At the news conference, three of the vets who have done checkups of the herd, presented a detailed chronology of the events, photos, and videos related to the virus' establishment. They confirmed the presence of symptoms of ovine rinderpest.

Kostov explained that in an official letter, Greek veterinary authorities state that the Greek laboratory which had tested samples sent to it by the farms' owners, is not an official laboratory accredited to carry out PPR testing. Those samples had tested negative for ovine rinderpest.

Patarinski said that on Wednesday, the European Commission will send a team of experts to check this case of PPR in Bulgaria. The first stage of sanctions have already been imposed and movement of animals from the region of Pazardzhik (South Central Bulgaria) has been prohibited.

In late November, an outbreak of ovine rinderpest was detected in a herd of some 1,760 animals in Velingrad. The owners of the affected farms, backed by citizens, have been refusing to allow the animals' culling by the authorities, claiming the sheep are healthy despite two tests by the BFSA showing otherwise. A third sample was sent to the EURL in Montpellier last week.