Greece bans moving goats and sheep as 'goat plague' spreads

Reuters
Jul 29, 2024

Greece bans moving goats and sheep as 'goat plague' spreads


ATHENS, July 29 (Reuters) - Greece has banned moving sheep and goats from their farms to try to contain a viral infection known as "goat plague" after new cases were detected over the weekend, the agriculture ministry said on Monday.
 
The virus, also known as Peste des Petits Ruminants (PPR), does not affect humans but is highly contagious among goats and sheep and can kill up to 70% of those infected.
 
About 8,000 animals have been culled and more than 200,000 tested, mainly in the central Thessaly region where authorities first detected the outbreak on July 11, Georgios Stratakos, a senior agriculture ministry official, told Reuters.