Germany reports no new foot-and-mouth cases as UK bans meat and dairy imports

Authorities in Germany have said that they have not found any new cases of the foot-and-mouth disease in livestock after extensive testing around the area where the first case was reported last week, according to a Reuters report. 

On Friday, German authorities confirmed the first foot-and-mouth disease in nearly 40 years in a herd of buffalo in Berlin’s Brandenburg region. 

On Tuesday, the agricultural ministry in Brandenburg said that testing of animals on farms had revealed no new cases around the area of 1 kilometer from the first reported case. 

Investigations underway in Germany

The authorities said that investigations were underway and transport of animals to the affected region remained banned until Wednesday. 

According to the government of the UK, foot-and-mouth disease poses no risk to human or food safety but is a highly contagious viral disease of cattle, sheep, pigs, and other cloven-hoofed animals. 

Earlier the German agricultural ministry had warned that the reporting of even one case of the disease could bring the country’s exports of meats and dairy products outside of the European Union to a total halt.

The last case of foot-and-mouth disease occurred in Germany in 1988, according to the FLI Animal Health Research Institute. 

The institute, however, said that the disease is a frequent occurrence in countries in the Middle East, Africa, and in many Asian and South American nations. 

The outbreak in Germany also meant that the country could no longer be termed as free from foot-and-mouth disease.

This is also likely to trigger several restrictions on Germany’s exports of meat and dairy products to other nations. 

UK bans meat from Germany

Earlier on Tuesday, Britain had banned the imports of hams as well as other meats and dairy products from Germany to prevent the spreading of the disease in the country. 

The British government had said that there were no cases found in Britain, and the ban was placed to protect the interest of farmers and their livelihoods. 

While the disease has no risk to the health of humans, an outbreak in 2001 severely affected the livelihoods of farmers in the country. 

The outbreak in 2001 resulted in the slaughter of around 6 million animals, which took a severe toll on the farming community. 

Germany is a major supplier to the UK

Germany is the third-largest exporter of pig meat to the UK and has an 18% market share. It has also a 12% market share in the dairy industry as the country is the second largest exporter to the UK. according to Britain's Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB).

Reuters quoted Mandy Nevel, AHDB's Head of Animal Health and Welfare in a report:

In the period between January to October of last year, Germany had exported around 117,340 tons of pig meat, which was worth $545 million to the UK, data from the AHDB showed. 

Imports of beef and sheep meat were at 6,796 tons and 85 tons, respectively.