An unprecedented vaccination operation is being launched today across Cyprus, aiming to halt the spread of foot-and-mouth disease threatening the island’s livestock.
The Veterinary Services, in close coordination with the European Commission and international experts from the EUVET team, are rolling out the largest veterinary operation ever undertaken on the island. The first 10,000 vaccine doses, delivered today from the occupied territories, will be administered in the high-risk zone — within a ten-kilometre radius of the outbreaks in Larnaca, covering the areas of Livadia, Oroklini, Aradippou, Kelia and Troulli.
As 529,000 additional doses arrive from Europe over the coming days, vaccination will gradually extend to every corner of Cyprus. Culling is strictly limited to the 11 farms where cases have already been confirmed, avoiding the mass destruction of healthy herds.
The epidemiological picture is cause for concern: specialised analyses indicate the virus had been circulating silently in the free areas since early February — several weeks before the first official report on the 19th. The Veterinary Services, which had already inspected 130 holdings along the green line in January without detecting anything, are now on maximum alert.
Meanwhile, the loss of “FMD-free country” status means a temporary suspension of live animal exports. However, there is an optimistic window for halloumi: the European Commission clarified that thermally processed products, including pasteurised dairy, can continue to be sold on the EU market without restrictions. Authorities are urging livestock farmers to strictly observe biosecurity measures.
