New sheep pox outbreaks in Bulgaria have led to the culling of 10,000 animals over the past week. Simeon Karakolev, co-chairman of the National Sheep and Goat Breeding Association, shared the alarming figures during a morning interview with the national television, warning that the situation remains far from under control.

According to Karakolev, the confirmed losses already number 10,000 euthanized sheep, and there is no indication that the spread of the disease is slowing. More troubling, he added, is that a second major threat looms on the horizon - "Bluetongue," a virus that hasn't been seen in Bulgaria in a decade, but is now reportedly approaching the country's borders.

Bluetongue primarily affects sheep, goats, and buffaloes and is characterized by fever. Karakolev explained that the virus exists in multiple variants. Bulgaria has vaccination coverage for one strain, but the variant now expected is different and not covered by current vaccines. Its transmission through insects - mainly flies and mosquitoes - could make containment especially difficult. He noted that outbreaks have already been reported in neighboring North Macedonia, close to the Bulgarian border, and in parts of Greece.

Karakolev emphasized that Greece has struggled with small ruminant diseases for over a year and has already euthanized more than 150,000 animals. This serves as a cautionary example of how quickly such outbreaks can spiral out of control if not managed effectively.

Beyond the health threat, Karakolev also highlighted systemic vulnerabilities in Bulgaria’s animal health oversight. Last week, he personally observed that key roads in and out of Plovdiv - one of Bulgaria's major regions for livestock - had no police presence or patrols to monitor animal transport. According to him, the absence of preventive control opens the door to illegal or unregulated movement of livestock, which significantly increases the risk of spreading infection.

He warned that some of the animals being moved might not even originate from within Bulgaria, raising concerns about cross-border disease transmission through uncontrolled trade. In his words, “A fire is also raging in the sheep breeding sector, and it will not be extinguished so quickly.”

Source: BNT interview