For the first time in years, an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) has occurred in Germany. Three water buffaloes on a farm in Hönow, near Berlin, have died due to the disease, according to investigations.
Deputy district administrator Freidemann Hanke (CDU) informed the newspaper Bild that all eleven remaining water buffaloes on the affected farm will be culled. Additionally, fifteen animals on three nearby farms are being examined.
Animals belonging to the same owner in another region are also being tested for the virus. The last FMD cases in Germany were reported by German media in 1988.
Research is being conducted to determine the cause of this outbreak. The FMD virus is harmless to humans.
Source: NOS