Czech Agriculture Minister Marek Výborný plans to ask Slovak Agriculture Minister Richard Takáč (Smer-SD) on Wednesday to start testing milk for the presence of foot-and-mouth disease virus. PCR tests can detect the infection three to five days earlier than symptoms appear in animals. The Czech Republic began preventive testing on farms in the South Moravian region, which borders Slovakia, on Tuesday.
Výborný stated that all the milk tests from farms in the South Moravian region have been negative. He also stated that in the districts which border Slovakia, this measure applies not only to large farms, as in the rest of the region, but also to small farms.
The Czech minister would like Slovakia to start testing milk for the presence of the foot-and-mouth disease virus as well. According to him, this measure could help Slovakia detect potential new outbreaks of the disease quicker.
Source: TASR
