Information on the current animal disease situation can be found in the respective latest issue of the monthly newsletter Radar Bulletin (in German language).
Foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) is a highly contagious viral disease of cloven-hoofed animals (cattle, sheep, goats and pigs). Many zoo and wild animals can also suffer from FMD. In January 2025, an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) occurred in a herd of 14 buffalo in Brandenburg, marking a return to the disease after 37 years of freedom from FMD. Fortunately, this was the only outbreak in Germany, enabling the country to regain its 'FMD-free without vaccination' status from the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) on 14 April 2025.
However, in March and April, several outbreaks of FMD occurred in Hungary and Slovakia. The virus detected there is not closely related to the one found in Brandenburg. The last cases of FMD were reported in Slovakia on 4 April and in Hungary on 17 April. There are currently no indications that the virus is still circulating in these countries.
FMD is still endemic in Turkey, the Middle East and Africa, many Asian countries and parts of South America. Illegally imported animal products from these countries pose a constant threat to European agriculture.
FMD is a purely animal disease and is not transmissible to humans, i.e. it is not a zoonosis.
The Friedrich Loeffler Institute was founded by its namesake to research FMD and began its work in 1910. Since then, the disease has been an integral part of the institute's research.
Last News of the FLI
In view of the critical animal health situation in Hungary and Slovakia, the Friedrich-Loeffler-Institute (FLI) is urgently calling for laboratory testing to rule out foot-and-mouth disease in all clinically conspicuous cloven-hoofed animals in Germany.
Livestock owners, attending vets and official veterinarians must pay particular attention to cloven-hoofed animals for symptoms such as fever, salivation, lesions around the mouth and nose, on the teats and claws, and lameness. It is often not possible to rule out FMD with certainty on the basis of clinical signs alone! The only way to be sure is to follow up with a PCR test, which can be carried out in all provinces. For this purpose, lesion material (if available), mouth and nasal swabs and serum should be sent. If there is a clinical suspicion of bluetongue, an FMD exclusion test should also be carried out.
Since the beginning of March, two outbreaks of FMD in cattle have been reported in Hungary and five in Slovakia, involving several thousand animals. The route of infection is still unknown and investigations and control measures are ongoing.
At present, the disease is expected to spread further, with two outbreaks already close to the Austrian border, so restrictions and increased surveillance have already been ordered for smaller regions in Austria.
Germany is supporting both countries by providing vaccine. Some of the vaccine procured but not used following the outbreak in Brandenburg/Germany in January is now being used in Hungary and Slovakia.
The FMD virus can be transmitted over long distances, for example through contaminated food, so cases could occur at any time, even in regions far removed from the current outbreak. The FLI urges travellers not to bring raw dairy products or products containing undercooked meat from FMD-affected regions. In addition, all food waste must be disposed of properly so that animals do not have access to it.
The FMD viruses found in Hungary and Slovakia are of the same serotype, but are genetically distinct from the virus found in Brandenburg/Germany in January. In Brandenburg, the outbreak was confined to a single herd of 14 water buffalo and did not spread.
The outbreaks of foot and mouth disease in Hungary and Slovakia have affected large herds of cattle. (© FLI)
Nach dem Ausbruch der Maul- und Klauenseuche (MKS) in Brandenburg Anfang Januar 2025 wurde der Status „MKS-frei ohne Impfung“ der Weltorganisation für Tiergesundheit (WOAH) für Deutschland vorübergehend ausgesetzt. Der Ausbruch hatte für die gesamte Bundesrepublik weitreichende Konsequenzen für den Handel mit Klauentieren und Produkten dieser Tiere, denn zahlreiche Drittländer sperrten sofort das ganze Land für entsprechende Importe. Gestern erteilte die WOAH Deutschland wieder den MKS-Freiheitsstatus, abgesehen von einer weiterhin bestehenden kleinen Restriktionszone in der betroffenen Region Brandenburgs und einem Teil Berlins. Bis alle Drittländer ihre Handelsrestriktionen wieder aufheben, kann es allerdings noch geraume Zeit dauern. Dennoch ist die Entscheidung der WOAH als Erfolg und Anerkennung für die sehr erfolgreiche Bekämpfung des MKS-Ausbruch durch alle beteiligten Behörden zu sehen.
Am 7. März 2025 meldete Ungarn einen MKS-Ausbruch bei Rindern; die Tierseuche ist in der EU somit wieder präsent. Es handelt sich hier, wie in Deutschland, um ein MKS-Virus des Serotyps O. Die Viren sind jedoch genetisch klar unterschiedlich und es besteht kein epidemiologischer Zusammenhang zwischen den Ausbrüchen. Ungarn hat bereits 10.000 Dosen Impfstoff aus Deutschland erhalten, die aus dem vorsorglich für die Seuchenbekämpfung georderten Kontingent stammen. Es ist davon auszugehen, dass der von Deutschland beschaffte Serotyp-O-Impfstoff auch gegen das in Ungarn gefundene Virus wirksam ist.
Rind (© FLI )