Nine farms in Hungary and Slovakia cases have now been confirmed with foot-and-mouth disease (FMD), as efforts to contain the disease have been stepped up in the two affected countries and Austria.

Four cases have now been confirmed in Hungary. On April 2, Hungarian Agriculture Minister, István Nagy, confirmed two more cases, the NFU’s Brussels-based BAB office reports. Both are in Győr-Moson-Sopron county, close to the Slovakian and Austrian borders. According to press reports, one farm has 1,000 cows and the other, 2,500.

Hungary’s first case was reported on March 7 at a dairy farm in Kisbajcs, in Győr-Moson-Sopron County, in western Hungary. A second outbreak was confirmed on March 26 at a dairy farm in Levél, Győr-Moson-Sopron, about 50km from the first farm in Kisbajcs.

Its proximity to the Austrian border meant the surveillance zone extended into Austrian territory, prompting Great Britain to extend import restrictions to Austria.

NPA senior policy adviser Katie Jarvis reported thar the two most recent outbreaks were being suppressed with vaccine with culling intended to start on Monday. Both of these cases had previously tested negative on two separate dates, suggesting the disease is still circulating, she said.

The source of the Hungarian outbreak remains unclear, but the Hungarian National Reference Laboratory has identified the virus as O serotype. Its sequence shows the highest similarity with a strain isolated in Pakistan in 2017-18 (98- 99%), but it differs from the strain detected in Germany in January 2025.

Reuters has reported Hungary has deployed soldiers and launched new disinfection measures to help contain the outbreak. “We are making every effort to prevent any additional outbreaks,” Hungarian Agriculture Minister Istvan Nagy said.

Slovakia outbreaks

Five farms have now been infected with FMD in Slovakia. A fifth farm in Plavecký Štvrtok, located 70 kilometers from the earlier affected farms, was confirmed to have the virus on March 30. Slovakian Agriculture Minister, Richard Takáč, said the farm has had contact with the infected farm in Lével, the NFU’s BAB office said.

Slovakia’s first case was reported on March 20, and the first four affected farms were in the south of the country, close to the border with Hungary.

The serotype matches with the cases in Hungary. Control measures are being implemented by Slovakian authorities, including protection zones and surveillance zones and the movement of animals is prohibited.

The Ministry of Defence of the Slovak Republic has bought a supply of 10,000 vaccination doses, and affected animals will be vaccinated and culled, the BAB office added.

Katie added that Hungary and Slovakia are rendering the animals which are clearly infected, and burying the others.

However, emergency veterinary teams from the European Commission have been critical of the Slovakian response,  including the speed of culls and the implementation of controls.

Austria precautions

Reuters also reports that Austria will close two smaller crossings at its border with Slovakia and 21 at its border with Hungary from Saturday, in a bid to keep FMD out, the Interior Ministry said on Thursday.

Austria has now extended their restriction zones to a special restricted zone across part of two federal states. This allows them to conduct more testing and re-examine every four weeks while not restricting movement, Katie added.