Livestock threat: Austria shuts 23 borders over FMD

Shafaq News/ Austria will close 21 border crossings with Hungary and two with Slovakia starting April 5 to prevent the spread of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD), the Interior Ministry announced on Thursday.

“Police resources will be concentrated at major crossings to support containment efforts and protect national livestock,” the ministry stated.

The decision follows confirmed FMD outbreaks in Hungary and Slovakia in March, Hungary’s first in 50 years, and a related state of emergency declared in Slovakia after additional cases were detected near the Austrian border.

Germany also reported a case in January, its first in over three decades, prompting broader regional containment measures and trade restrictions.

The disease remains endemic in parts of Africa, Asia, and the Middle East. In early 2025, Iraq and Algeria also confirmed outbreaks, prompting emergency vaccination campaigns and movement restrictions.

Though FMD poses no risk to humans, it spreads rapidly among cloven-hoofed animals and can lead to major economic losses through decreased productivity, livestock deaths, trade bans, and mass culling. The UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) warned that the virus severely threatens food security by halting milk production and rendering animals unfit for labor.