Breeders ask to vaccinate flocks as lumpy skin disease spreads; authorities report 500,000 doses from Turkey
Breeders demand permission to vaccinate flocks; ministry and AFV say 500,000 vaccine doses from Turkey are en route.
Sheep breeders have appealed to authorities for permission to vaccinate their flocks as a fast‑spreading outbreak of lumpy skin disease threatens the national small‑ruminant population. The breeders delivered their message today during a gathering in front of the Government building, saying they need immediate tools to stop further losses.
The Union of Sheep Breeders urged the Agency for Food and Veterinary (AFV) to allow farmers to carry out on‑farm vaccination, and demanded that the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Economy move quickly with preventive measures and compensate producers whose flocks have already been culled or lost.
State response and surveillance
The ministry said it and the Agency for Food and Veterinary are continuously monitoring the epidemiological situation. Minister Borche Serafimovski and AFV director Oliver Milanov are in constant, direct coordination, while veterinary services analyse daily reports from affected regions and assess the effects of measures already taken.
According to the AFV system, early detection and control are carried out through contracted veterinary societies. After every report of a suspect case, official veterinarians take blood samples and swabs from the animals and send them for laboratory testing. If the virus is confirmed, the AFV director issues a decision defining control and protective measures for the affected holding, "including euthanasia of the animals and their safe disposal by burial at an approved site."
Parallel to the control activities, authorities say 500,000 doses of vaccine have been provided as a donation from the Republic of Turkey and are expected to arrive in the coming days. A request for additional quantities has been submitted to the European Commission, and technical support from the EUVET team has again been requested.
The ministry stressed that all vaccine batches will undergo laboratory testing for safety and purity before use, and that any vaccination campaign will start only after test results are confirmed, following an official plan and under AFV control.
Photo: press material from the event
