The deadly sheep and goat pox epidemic that has afflicted Greek livestock farming since 2024 has spread to the central Peloponnese region of Arcadia, regional authorities said.
One case of the disease has been confirmed in a sheep in the mountainous, traditionally pastoral area, which had so far remained pox-free despite outbreaks in the neighboring regions of Corinthia, Achaia and Ilia.
The government has ruled out vaccinations, which would affect Greek dairy exports – including €1 billion-worth of annual feta cheese sales abroad – and insists on culling entire herds where even one case has been confirmed, coupled with strict biosecurity measures to stop the spread of infection.
State ERT television said Thursday that 106 sheep from the flock where the case was registered have been slaughtered. ERT said a second suspected, but so far unconfirmed, case of the disease has been reported in another part of Arcadia.
Nearly 490,000 sheep and goats have been slaughtered nationwide since the epidemic started in August 2024. Until now, the central and southern Peloponnese, as well as Attica, the southern Aegean islands and most of Crete have been spared.
