site.btaOvine Rinderpest Detected in Two Sheep Farms in Svilengrad Municipality

An outbreak of ovine rinderpest (PPR) has been detected in two farms in Svilengrad Municipality, the Haskovo Regional Administration said in a press release on Tuesday. The information about sheep testing positive for PPR at the farms was submitted by the regional food safety directorate.

The positive results have been confirmed by the National Reference Laboratory with the Prof. Dr. G. Pavlov National Diagnostic and Research Veterinary Medical Institute.

As part of urgent measures ordered by the Bulgarian Food Safety Agency Executive Director, some 180 infected sheep and all animals who have been in contact with them have been humanely culled and buried. A 3-kilometre protection zone and a 10-km monitoring zone around the outbreak have been established. These cover the villages of Mezek, Pastrogor, Dimitrovche, Chernodab, Generalovo, and Kapitan Andreevo.

Last week, an outbreak of sheep and goat pox was detected in Kapitan Andreevo near the Turkish and Greek border, and a total of 212 sheep were humanely culled and buried.