Sheep and goat herds in Yambol district to be tested for sheep plague and smallpox

Starting from December 2, testing for the presence of sheep and goat plague and smallpox will begin in 6 villages in Yambol district. Samples will be taken from over 1,000 sheep and goats by December 4, said the regional food safety directorate. The testing is necessary due to an outbreak of smallpox in the village of Zhelyu Voyvoda, located in the Sliven region.

The ten-kilometre sanitary zone around the village also includes the villages of Zimnitsa, Zavoy, Veselinovo, Kabyle, Drazhevo and Hadzhidmitrovo in Yambol district, where nearly 1 600 sheep and goats are bred. Testing will also be made for the presence of antibodies, explained Dr. Stoyan Kolev from the Regional Food Safety Directorate in Yambol. He also added that "the disease is not dangerous to humans, but it spreads through the unregulated movement of animals’’.