Cancer research Highly contagious

ON Tuesday, February 7, the Junta de Castilla­La Mancha activated the immobilisation protocol for all livestock in the Castilian­La Mancha provinces, except in Guadalajara. This was due to a new outbreak of sheep pox.

It is not transmitted to humans or to the milk or cheese the animals produce, but is a highly contagious disease with high mortality among farm livestock.

The measure affected 6,000 sheep and goat farms in Cuenca, Ciudad Real, Toledo, and Albacete, with some 3.5 million head of cattle.

Regarding the movement of animals, only those going to the slaughterhouse are authorised, although milk can continue to be collected on the farms and the animals can also be grazed.

Experts were said to be surprised by the rapid transmission of the virus. It began as an outbreak of sheep/goat smallpox in Granada, which then made the leap to Cuenca. Since then it spread in the Castilian­La Mancha region, causing 25 outbreaks and leaving livestock immobilised. As a result, 38,000 animals have already been slaughtered.