Cyprus veterinary authorities to decide on foot-and-mouth disease outbreaks

The director of the Cyprus Veterinary Services, Christodoulos Pipis, is expected to issue a decision within days regarding the management of three farms in Pentakomo, Alethriko, and Avgorou suspected of having foot-and-mouth disease. This decision follows a report by the European Veterinary Emergency Team (EUVET), based on inspections conducted between August 10 and 13, which recommended that the farms in Avgorou and Pentakomo be officially declared as outbreak sites subject to strict European legislation.

The final ruling will also determine whether positive cases identified in traditional breeds of sheep and cattle will be subject to mandatory culling or if they can be preserved. The European Commission's Standing Committee on Plants, Animals, Food and Feed (PAFF) reviewed the matter during meetings on September 17 and 18. Officials had initially sought external guidance before moving to declare the sites as official infection centers. Since the start of the outbreak, 121 farms have been affected across the region, resulting in the culling of 80,133 animals. The last recorded case prior to these investigations occurred in Mammari on June 9, with the most recent suspicions in the three current holdings emerging in mid-July 2026.