Greece Battles Sheep Pox Outbreak Impacting Economy

The news in Greek

1. πρόβλημα  (n.)
   δύσκολη κατάσταση που χρειάζεται λύση ↩︎
2. ευλογιά  (f.)
   λοιμώδης ασθένεια που προσβάλλει ζώα ή ανθρώπους ↩︎
3. πρόβατο  (n.)
   οικόσιτο ζώο που παράγει μαλλί και γάλα ↩︎
4. επηρεάζω
   έχω επίδραση σε κάτι ↩︎
5. κοπάδι  (n.)
   ομάδα ζώων του ίδιου είδους ↩︎
6. καραντίνα  (f.)
   περιορισμός στην μετακίνηση για να μη διαδοθεί ασθένεια ↩︎

Translation

Text comprehension

Question 1: What has been the impact of the sheep pox outbreak on animals in Greece?

Question 2: Does the sheep pox outbreak affect humans?

Vocabulary

Greek	English
πρόβλημα  (n.)	problem
ευλογιά  (f.)	smallpox
πρόβατο  (n.)	sheep
επηρεάζω	influence
κοπάδι  (n.)	herd
καραντίνα  (f.)	quarantine

Read the full story

The Greek authorities are grappling with a significant outbreak of sheep pox, a crisis that is affecting both the agricultural economy and rural communities across the country. Originating in 2024, this persistent epidemic has now spread to over 2,000 herds nationwide, resulting in the culling of hundreds of thousands of animals, to curb the disease’s further proliferation.

More than 410,000 animals have been lost due to zoonoses in the past year, with sheep pox accounting for 300,000 of these losses. This epidemic poses a direct threat to the survival of many livestock farmers and has led to a financial toll exceeding €350 million. The President of the Hellenic Livestock Association, Dimitris Moschos, emphasises the urgent need for decisive action, warning that delays could cause irreversible damage to the industry.

Compounding these challenges, the situation is exacerbated by the annual production of iconic Greek products such as feta cheese, which relies heavily on sheep’s milk. With exports contributing significantly to the economy, the disease threatens both local consumption and international trade, notably affecting the EU and U.S. markets.

Efforts to combat the epidemic have led to the initiation of a 10-day quarantine for all livestock farms, alongside a ban on inter-regional animal and product transportation. However, these measures are criticised as being insufficient and tardy, as the disease continues to spread across several regions, including Thrace, Thessaly, and Western Greece.

A point of contention remains the potential use of vaccination. While many in the livestock sector advocate for its adoption, citing the European Union’s stance on health safety, the Greek government resists, fearing it could close lucrative export markets. Nonetheless, there has been a call from the EU Commission for Greece to consider this strategy more seriously.

Despite the crisis, public health officials stress that sheep pox poses no risk to humans, assuring that transmission does not occur from animals to people or through dairy and meat products. Nonetheless, the economic ramifications for Greece’s agriculture sector remain a major concern.

Moving forward, as stakeholders and policymakers debate solutions, the Greek agriculture sector faces critical decisions that could shape its future trajectory under the shadow of this continuing epidemic.

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