NICOSIA, April 17 (Xinhua) -- Cyprus has begun culling pigs at a farm west of the capital Nicosia after foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) was confirmed in a pig holding, marking the first such case in swine in the country, the Veterinary Services said on Friday, according to the Cyprus Mail.
Sotiria Georgiadou, spokeswoman for the Veterinary Services, said the infection was detected on April 15 at the farm, which is located in a relatively remote area, and FMD spreads more rapidly among pigs than other livestock, underscoring the need for strict compliance with movement restrictions and biosecurity measures.
Authorities have established a new protection zone west of Nicosia. A 21-day movement restriction has been imposed on the affected farm and all livestock holdings within a three-kilometer radius, including a ban on the transport of animal products.
The current outbreak began on Feb. 20, when the first FMD case was reported at a dairy farm in the southeastern Larnaca region. Since then, the disease has spread across several areas of the country.
According to Dimitris Epaminondas, president of the Cyprus Veterinary Association, 84 livestock holdings have been infected nationwide, 61 of them in the southern Larnaca region. He told local media on Thursday that more than 30,000 sheep, goats and cattle had been culled in efforts to contain the outbreak. ■