Minister for Agriculture Martin Heydon has said that news of three outbreaks of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) in Slovakia this Friday is very concerning.

The three farms are all within a 20km radius of the farm in Hungary which tested positive for the disease last month and will see around 2,500 cattle slaughtered to stop the disease from spreading.

“I know this is a terrible blow to Slovak farmers and their agri-food industry. Given the highly contagious nature of the FMD virus, I urge everyone in Ireland, particularly farmers, to continue to stay vigilant and to protect our Irish livestock.

“Those travelling to Ireland from FMD-affected countries should take every precaution not to bring the disease with them via contaminated meat, dairy and materials such as clothing, shoes and equipment.

“It is especially important that if you have visited farms, wildlife areas or zoos in FMD-affected countries, that you avoid all contact with livestock or wildlife for at least 14 days following arrival in Ireland,” he said.

Slovakia is the third EU member state to confirm an outbreak of FMD in 2025, following the initial confirmation by Germany on 10 January that it had detected its first case of the disease since 1988.

Contagious

FMD is a highly contagious viral disease of cattle, sheep, pigs and other cloven-hoofed animals. It causes very significant economic losses, due to production losses in the affected animals and due to the loss of access to foreign markets for animals, meat and milk for affected countries.

The Department of Agriculture said that FMD does not infect humans and does not pose a food safety risk. Ireland is free of FMD, having had its last case in 2001.

The Department is taking action to protect Irish livestock following this outbreak. The Department has confirmed that no animals susceptible to FMD (that is, cattle, sheep, pigs) have been imported into Ireland from Slovakia, Hungary or Germany since 1 January 2025, which is long before the recent cases would have been first infected.

Import bans

Ireland’s controls to prevent FMD include strict prohibitions on the imports of animals and animal products from countries in which FMD is present, a comprehensive veterinary surveillance system to detect unusual disease outbreaks and active follow-up and veterinary investigation of any suspects reports.

If an outbreak of the disease were to be confirmed in Ireland, the infected herd would be culled, the site disinfected and a 3km protection zone and 10km surveillance zone set up, within which very strict movement controls and testing would be imposed, the Department said on Friday evening.

“A national movement ban would very likely be imposed in the first days after any initial FMD case. If a case of FMD were to occur in Ireland, it would lead to the immediate loss of market access for Irish animals and animal products,” it added.

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Foot-and-mouth disease confirmed on three farms in Slovakia

Foot-and-mouth found on 1,400 head cattle farm in Hungary