Bulgarian Agriculture Ministry Decides to Not Vaccinate Sheep and Goats against Pox

There will be no vaccination of small ruminants in Bulgaria, the Ministry of Agriculture announced on October 30.

The reason is that outbreaks of sheep and goat pox have been declining, with no new cases registered this week, while vaccination would lead to significant losses, especially for dairy processors who export dairy products.

Sheep and goat pox has been present in Bulgaria for more than a year. At present, there are 187 outbreaks across eight regions, but no new cases have been recorded this week. Since the summer, a heated debate has been taking place within the sector over whether vaccination should be carried out, sharply dividing livestock breeders and dairy producers. Ultimately, the government has decided against vaccinating small ruminants. Bulgaria consulted the European Commission on the issue, and Agriculture Commissioner Hansen, who visited the country several weeks ago, stated that each Member State must take its own decision.

Dr Svetlozar Patarinski, Executive Director of the Bulgarian Food Safety Agency, said:

“In the last two weeks, we have seen an extreme downward trend in cases — only three outbreaks over this period. The trend is clearly declining, and so far this week we have not registered a single new outbreak.”

Dr Koycho Koev, Director of the Centre for Risk Assessment in the Food Chain, urged farmers to maintain strict biosecurity measures:

“Farmers should enforce strict biosecurity, particularly regarding the movement of live animals. Sheep and goat pox is no longer behaving exactly as described in textbooks regarding epidemic markers, incubation periods and progression.”

Agriculture Minister Georgi Tahov said that the decision against vaccination was not taken under pressure, but after extensive discussions with all stakeholders, including the scientific community. He noted that EU countries where sheep and goat pox is present are also not vaccinating.

Finally, the government announced that all farmers who have lost animals due to the disease will be compensated. Under the most recent compensation programme, more than 2 million BGN have already been paid out.