ATHENS – The discovery in Greece of Peste de Petis Ruminants (PPR) – also known as Goat Plague – could put the country’s renowned and European Union origin protected feta cheese production at risk, with a ban on moving livestock in place.

In a report on the problem, Euronews said the disease, said to have come in from Romania, has led to the culling of nearly 58,000 sheep and goats, with feta usually made with 100 percent sheep’s milk or up to 30 percent goat milk mixed in.

The disease poses a significant threat to Greece’s domestic livestock industry and the production of its signature feta cheese, a cornerstone of its economy, the report said, noting that about 40 percent of the feta comes from Thessaly, which was flooded in 2023.

https://www.euronews.com/my-europe/2024/08/02/feta-in-peril-greece-battles-goat-plague-threatening-dairy-production

Greece produces around 140,000 tons of feta annually, exporting about 65 percent of its production as one of the most valuable commodities shipped to other countries and an important product in the global dairy market.

PPR is not a zoonosis, meaning it does not transmit from animals to humans so meat and milk are safe for consumption but it cuts into livestock production because so many animals have to be separated from herds or killed.

According to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), symptoms of the disease include depression, fever, nasal and ocular discharges, oral sores, respiratory distress, coughing, diarrhea, and death.

The European Commission told the news site that it is, “following closely with both countries and setting up the necessary measures at the EU level,” and adopted procedures to restrict the movement of products to ensure safe trade can continue.

The European Union’s food safety authority (EFSA) told the site that it knows about the situation in both countries but hasn’t received any requests for scientific advice but is ready to do so if asked.

Deputy Minister of Rural Development and Food Christos Kellas confirmed the plague came from Romania and told state ERT radio that there are now “serious indications about the country and the way the disease” entered Greece.

He added that Romania has taken measures, while at the same time an epidemiological investigation is ongoing while the state prosecutor has also intervened and private and military veterinarians are aiding.

“That seems to be where they came from (Romania.). We are doing what we have to do and we are continuing the effort in an intensive way, in order to limit the disease as much as possible,” he said.

He also announced that the European Union has banned the export of live animals from Romania to Greece until it finds out how the disease was transmitted between countries, no report on whether sheep had been imported.