The highly contagious animal disease foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) is spreading further in Hungary and Slovakia, near the Austrian and Czech borders. Therefore, the Dutch Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority (NVWA) urges carriers to tighten the cleaning and disinfection (C&D) of animal transport vehicles.
The FMD virus can be carried over long distances by people and animals via poorly cleaned transport vehicles. Therefore, it is essential to strictly adhere to transport hygiene, C&D procedures, and hygiene protocols. Livestock trucks that have transported cattle, pigs, sheep, goats, or deer in Hungary or Slovakia and then arrive empty or loaded in the Netherlands must be thoroughly cleaned and disinfected immediately upon entry.
Use the C&D Action Plan
The NVWA urgently calls on all carriers of cloven-hoofed animals to tighten existing hygiene measures by systematically following the C&D action plan of the NVWA. This action plan enables carriers to thoroughly clean and disinfect their livestock transport vehicles and prevents further spread of the FMD virus. It also promotes the overall health of the animals.
The emphasis here is on:
- Cleaning transport vehicles with (lukewarm) water and a foam cleaner, instead of just cold water.
- Using approved and effective disinfectants to kill or repel the FMD virus. On the NVWA website, there is a list of approved disinfectants against the FMD virus.
- Only using tap water for cleaning and disinfecting livestock trucks, due to guaranteed water quality.
Tightened Controls and Second C&D
Due to the threat of FMD, the NVWA has tightened controls on compliance with the rules. There is a second C&D obligation for transport vehicles of cloven-hoofed animals for Bulgaria, Germany, Estonia, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Croatia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, and all countries outside the European Union.
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