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The so-called plague of small ruminants (PPR) was first detected on July 11 near the town of Kalambaka in the central region of Thessaly.
“The movement of sheep and goats for breeding, fattening and slaughter purposes is prohibited throughout the country,” the ministry said on Monday.
The Ministry of Agriculture also said that infected animals had been discovered in the region of Larissa, the capital of Thessaly, and near Corinth in the Peloponnese further south.
On Monday, there was another case in the Athens region, as reported by Greek broadcaster ERT. This brings the number of infected animals to over a dozen. According to the ministry, infected animals were culled – before symptoms of the disease appeared.
Disease was imported from abroad
Veterinarians have traced the infection routes and determined that the disease came to Greece via animals imported from abroad, the Ministry of Agriculture said. It did not provide any more precise information about the country of origin of the disease.
Greece imports mainly sheep and goats from Romania, Turkey and Albania after devastating floods last year decimated its own stocks, the authority said.
Romania declared the outbreak of the disease on July 19, eight days after the first case was reported in Greece. Since Romania is an EU country, animal imports are not checked for diseases at the border, explained Greek Deputy Minister of Agriculture Christos Kellas on Skai TV. According to official figures, almost 58,000 sheep and goats were culled in Romania by last Friday.
PPR is highly contagious for sheep and goats, but is not transmitted to humans. Eating meat and pasteurized milk from infected animals is also considered safe
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