Six active outbreaks confirmed, with 1179 heads involved, 59 infected and 6 dead. So far. But the results of the tests conducted on eight other farms are awaited. And there is little hope that they will be negative. With other cases that could be added shortly.
Confirmations are arriving on data that had already emerged this morning (HERE THE NEWS) from the meeting convened at the Prefecture in Nuoro, with the Health Councillor Armando Bartolazzi present, to address the emergency of contagious nodular dermatitis, bovine plague also known as Lumpy Skin Disease (LSD) which risks wiping out an entire sector of the Sardinian economy.
Two lines of action have been hypothesized to stem the spread of the contagion: immediate vaccination, extended to all companies present in the risk areas, and selective culling limited to only sick and highly at-risk animals.
"From what emerged yesterday at the Ministry," explained Bartolazzi, "the isolated gene has been identified and its provenance from sub-Saharan Africa has been confirmed. It has been present in Sardinia for about three months. To date, there are 6 confirmed outbreaks in Sarule, Orani, Orotelli, Bottidda , while 8 are suspected and are being ascertained by official laboratories."
One piece of good news, which however is not good enough to avoid blocking movements, is that " mortality is currently limited to 0.51%, with a morbidity (percentage frequency) of 5.26%. These are very low percentages, due to the fact that the disease is not spread from animal to animal but through an insect vector, presumably a tick".
The councilor is banking on vaccinations. But the contingent must be addressed, while the virus moves: the idea is to selectively cull infected animals "and simultaneously vaccinate them followed by strict quarantine for other animals present within the risk areas, compatibly with the exemptions obtainable under current regulations".
In Lombardy they went hard: all the animals of a farm where a contagion was found - on an animal imported from Sardinia - were exterminated. "This is more complicated in Sardinia for two reasons: the dispersion of the farms, often characterized by wild grazing and units isolated biologically and physically over large distances, even within the same farm; on the other hand the technical difficulties of disposal, given the lack of adequately equipped structures on the island", Bartolazzi explained.
In the case of mass slaughter, "it would therefore be necessary to identify delivery points outside the region, providing for the stipulation of agreements with other territories, and with the identification of strict protocols for the transfer of carcasses to disposal sites". And the cost would be 500 euros per head.
"For this reason," explains the councilor, "we have asked Rome and Brussels to be able to derogate from the standard protocols and to be able to proceed with a careful selection of the actions to be carried out company by company with the help of our local veterinary units, provided that European regulations allow it."