After 46 days, the Austrian Armed Forces successfully completed its assistance mission to combat foot-and-mouth disease in Burgenland and Lower Austria.
On April 5, the Austrian Armed Forces began an assistance mission in Burgenland – on April 14 also in Lower Austria. The aim of the assistance mission was to prevent foot-and-mouth disease from spreading to animals in Austria. This goal was achieved: No cases of foot-and-mouth disease have been recorded in Austria to date.
Defense Minister Klaudia Tanner explains: “The Austrian Armed Forces were able to provide quick and effective support in containing the foot-and-mouth epidemic. Thanks to the excellent cooperation with the civilian authorities, it was possible to prevent the disease from spreading to Austria. I would like to thank all the emergency services for their dedicated service.”
A total of 29,561 deployment hours were used during the operation (13,918 of these in Burgenland and 15,643 in Lower Austria). In the process, 239,851 liters of disinfectant were used to decontaminate vehicles. On average, 68 members of the Austrian Armed Forces were deployed every day.
Agriculture Minister Norbert Totschnig also thanks the Austrian Armed Forces and acknowledges the commitment of all those involved: “At the end of today, the extended restricted zone in eastern Austria will be lifted – a success of determined, rapid crisis management and a credit to our family farms, which have contributed to the prevention of the epidemic with a great sense of responsibility. The end of the lockdown measures brings back a degree of normality, but must not be a reason for carelessness – because the residual risk remains. That is why targeted hygiene measures will continue to apply from May 21 to protect our animals and farms.”
Foot and mouth disease (FMD) is a highly infectious viral disease that mainly affects livestock such as cattle, pigs, sheep and goats. Symptoms include fever, vesicles in the mouth and on the claws as well as considerable loss of performance in the animals. The virus is harmless to humans, but an outbreak can have serious economic consequences for the agricultural sector: through animal losses, trade restrictions and comprehensive control measures.
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