The first 300,000 free doses of vaccine against peste des petits ruminants arrived in Romania on Thursday. Further consignments, taking the total to 1.1 million doses, are due by Sunday, 25 October.
The vaccines are drawn from the European Union’s emergency reserves and immunisation will be free for breeders. Romania is to receive 300,000 doses against peste des petits ruminants and 800,000 doses against sheep and goat pox.
ANSVSA said emergency vaccination is an internationally recognised tool for quickly stamping out outbreaks, securing national territory and meeting the animal-health conditions needed to resume exports.
Vaccination will not begin as soon as the first doses are in the country. ANSVSA said veterinary teams will work in the field only after every batch has been delivered and officially received. The authority gave no exact calendar date and said the first vaccinations will start immediately after reception is complete. ANSVSA specialists will begin distribution and vaccination on the ground immediately after the official reception of all batches.
The campaign will be organised from the National Database, so owners do not have to submit applications. Concessionary and authorised veterinarians will contact breeders directly to set the day and time of the visit.
Active outbreaks and restriction zones will have priority. Logistics will focus in particular on Constanța and Tulcea, where the risk is high. County veterinary directorates have already prepared plans for the campaign. ANSVSA said the large logistical effort will concentrate first on Constanța and Tulcea, where veterinary teams expect a rapid completion because those areas are highly exposed.
Breeders must be present at the holding and group or restrain the animals so vaccination can be carried out safely. The veterinarian and the owner will then sign a report confirming the procedure, and the details will be entered in the national computer system.
The cost of the vaccines is covered by the EU emergency reserves. The Romanian state will pay for transport, veterinarians’ travel, labour and the equipment required.
ANSVSA said that, in this form, the vaccination campaign does not affect exports of carcasses or dairy products from sheep and goats.
The supplies follow a formal request Romania made to the European Commission on 21 September. National plans were sent on 23 September, clarifications requested by the European side were provided on 5 October, and on 8 October the Commission activated the strategic reserves.
Beyond limiting the spread of the diseases, the authorities want the sanitary conditions required to lift restrictions on live-animal exports. The market outside the European Union is essential for Romanian breeders because it takes most of the country’s sheep production. A resumption of exports to EU member states would come at a later stage.
ANSVSA said the immediate aim is to save the sheep sector economically by creating the sanitary and legal conditions needed to lift the restrictions and resume live-animal exports to third countries. The authority described emergency vaccination as an important tool for extinguishing outbreaks and protecting livestock.