RÁBAPORDÁNY, Hungary – Hungary has confirmed its fifth outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD), this time at a cattle farm in Rábapordány, intensifying worries across Central Europe over the persistent spread of the highly contagious livestock virus.
The fresh case, located near the Austrian and Slovak borders, was officially identified through lab testing on Thursday afternoon, with authorities wasting no time in sealing off the affected premises.
Emergency Response in Motion
Agriculture Minister István Nagy took to social media to break the news.“The facility, home to approximately 600 dairy cattle, has been placed under immediate quarantine,” he stated.
Veterinary units have since launched emergency power culling procedures, with plans in place to euthanise the entire herd — part of Hungary’s urgent containment strategy.
This marks the fifth confirmed FMD site in the Győr-Moson-Sopron county, following earlier outbreaks in Kisbajcs, Levél, Darnózseli, and Dunakiliti, where over 4,000 animals have already been culled.
In response, officials have enforced:
- A 3-kilometre protection zone,
- And a 10-kilometre surveillance zone around the Rábapordány farm.
Veterinarians are actively engaged in contact tracing and mass testing to curb any wider spread.
While FMD poses no risk to human health, its impact on livestock — especially cattle, pigs, and sheep — is catastrophic, leading to severe economic fallout for farmers and the food industry.
Authorities estimate that the direct cost of this outbreak — Hungary’s first in half a century — has already soared into the millions of euros. The economic shock doesn’t end there.
Exports have stalled. Production lines are disrupted. Recovery is expected to take months, possibly years.
Hungary has suggested that a “biological attack” may be behind the country’s first outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease in over half a century. The outbreak has prompted border closures and the mass culling of cattle in the northwest.
The first case was reported last month on a… pic.twitter.com/ZcZOypM7ta
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In neighbouring Slovakia, where six outbreaks have been reported since March, the government declared a state of emergency, implementing tight transport and border controls. Losses there are already pegged at €8 million.
Rumblings of foul play have emerged. Some Hungarian and Slovak officials have speculated that the virus may have been deliberately introduced, though experts are urging restraint.
“Speculation without evidence is dangerous,” veterinary authorities caution, as the European research Commission conducts genome sequencing to determine the virus’s origin.
Meanwhile, the UK has banned all personal imports of meat and dairy from the EU, citing the escalating situation and the need to safeguard domestic agriculture.
The return of foot-and-mouth disease to Hungary after 50 years has triggered alarm bells across Europe. With thousands of animals already lost and millions in economic damages, the region faces a crucial moment.
As authorities race to trace the virus and contain its spread, the agriculture industry — both in Hungary and neighbouring nations — braces for continued disruption.
