Macedonian TV Reports Brucellosis Spreading “at Galloping Pace”

Text of report by Sonja Trajkova entitled “Brucellosis spreads at galloping pace” posted on the Macedonian A1 TV website on 19 July

The Veterinary Administration says it is still in control of the battle against brucellosis. According to director Slobodan Cokrevski, brucellosis is under control and he does not see as alarming the fact that during that past five years the number of infected sheep and goats has increased by 700 per cent.

The funds for fighting brucellosis were insufficient, although 6.5m euros were used only to identify the disease and kill the infected cattle.

“Utilizing funds without any results means that something has to change,” Prof Dr Mihail Danev of the Faculty of Veterinary Sciences has said.

According to veterinary experts, the disease spreads by killing the cattle, which means that not only the battle, but the entire war would be lost. Members of the Veterinary Administration said that vaccination, which is an effective measure, is prohibited.

Legal changes are apparently going to be sought as many as 25 years after the disease had first appeared, although Administration director Cokrevski believes that this measure is ineffective since we have unmarked sheep and goats.

Those in the know say that, if Cokrevski had read the European Commission’s recommendations, he would have known that, on the contrary, vaccination is particularly recommended for countries such as ours, where the cattle is unmarked.