Greek farmers have denied that production of feta cheese is likely to be hit hard by the outbreak of a deadly virus among goats and sheep that has led to the culling of thousands of animals.
Livestock industry officials sought to dispel fears that the cheese, a mainstay of the Mediterranean diet, could be imperilled because of the rate at which the highly contagious disease has spread.
“Around 9,000 animals have had to be killed because of the outbreak but it won’t endanger feta exports,” said Christos Tsopanos, a senior figure at the Association of Greek Livestock (SEK). “Our country has 14 million goats and sheep, more than any other [EU] state.”
He said 120,000 tons of the soft, crumbly cheese would be rolled out this year. “We have enough milk. Authorities have moved fast to deal with this situation.”
Known as the “sheep and goat plague” or peste des petits ruminants (PPR), the virus can kill between 80% and 100% of infected animals. It was first confirmed in Greece on 11 July.
EU regulations state that if a PPR case is detected in any herd the entire flock must be culled. Affected areas, including farmsteads, have to be disinfected.
Greece’s ministry of rural development and food has stepped up measures to tackle the disease, imposing nationwide restrictions on the movement of goats and sheep. More than 200,000 animals have been tested for the infection, mostly in the central Thessaly region, where the outbreak was first reported. The province was only just beginning to recover from a deadly storm that caused severe flooding and widespread damage to livestock farming last September.
Greece’s minister of agriculture and rural development, Costas Tsiaras, has also slapped a ban on the commercial slaughter of goats and sheep.
“Tightening security measures across the country is deemed necessary for preventive reasons and is aimed at limiting the spread and eradicating the disease,” the ministry said in a statement.
Greek officials have emphasised that although contagious the virus does not affect humans. “Consumers must understand that only animals are affected by this disease,” said SEK’s vice-president, Dimitris Moskos. “This is the first time it has appeared in Greece and we now believe it was imported from Romania in herds destined for slaughter.”
The virus was first recorded in 1942 in Ivory Coast, one of the most populous countries in West Africa, before spreading around the world. The United Nation’s Food and Agriculture Organisation estimates that the disease accounts for losses worth up to $2.1bn (about £1.6bn) every year.