MADRID (Reuters) -Spain has confirmed its first outbreak of the highly contagious lumpy skin disease on a cattle farm in the northeastern region of Catalonia and will carry out culls to prevent its spread, Spanish and Catalan authorities said over the weekend.
France and Italy have already been hit by the disease and have together recorded some 143 outbreaks since late June, according to French data.
The Spanish outbreak was detected on a farm with 123 dairy heifers in Castello d’Empuries, Girona, after three animals showed symptoms on October 1, Spain’s agriculture ministry said in a statement.
Lumpy skin disease, a viral disease transmitted by insect bites that is widespread in North Africa, causes blisters and lowers milk production in cattle. It does not pose a risk to humans but often leads to trade bans and economic losses.
As a result, authorities are implementing control measures, including the culling of all animals on the affected farm. Two linked farms are under investigation, affecting over 1,200 animals in total.
Spanish authorities have restricted cattle movement in a 20-kilometre (12-mile) area around the outbreak to try to contain the disease and a wider 50-km surveillance zone, the ministry said.
A surveillance zone has also been set up in France near the border with Spain, according to French authorities.
(Reporting by Romolo Tosiani in Madrid; additional reporting by Sybille de La Hamaide; Editing by Joe Bavier)
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