Spain culls cattle to contain lumpy skin disease

A man stands amid cows infected with lumpy skin disease at a cow shelter in Jaipur, Rajasthan state, India, Sept. 21, 2022. Infected cows and buffaloes get fever and have lumps on their skin. The viral disease that is spread by insects like mosquitoes and ticks. (AP Photo/ Vishal Bhatnagar)

Spanish authorities on Monday announced a cull of animals infected in the country’s first outbreak of highly contagious lumpy skin disease, which has struck cattle on a farm.

The outbreak was detected at a dairy farm in Girona province near the border with France, after several cows showed symptoms, the regional government said Saturday.

Lumpy skin disease, a viral infection spread by insect bites, is common across North Africa. It causes blisters and reduces milk production in cattle.

While harmless to humans, the disease often triggers trade restrictions and significant economic losses.

The surrounding Catalonia region’s agriculture department said it had established a surveillance zone of up to 50 km (31 miles) around the outbreak and would carry out inspections every 48 to 72 hours.

The movement of animals in the area will be restricted, livestock in the area will be vaccinated against the disease and the culling of 123 animals at the affected farm has begun, the department added.

“Farms that have to cull animals receive compensation,” Catalonia’s regional agriculture minister, Oscar Ordeig, said in an interview with Catalan public television late Sunday.

“It’s a very complex and serious situation, especially in the areas affected, but it has to be addressed. We all need to do our part to make sure it’s handled correctly and that the disease is kept under control.”

French authorities said they had put in place a surveillance zone along the border with Spain to prevent the spread of the disease.