Romania is receiving 1.1 million free vaccine doses for sheep and goats as the National Sanitary Veterinary and Food Safety Authority (ANSVSA) prepares an emergency national campaign against peste des petits ruminants (PMR) and sheep and goat pox (VOC). The first vaccines have already reached the country.
The 300,000 doses against PMR arrived on Thursday, 22 October. The remaining 800,000 doses against VOC will be delivered in stages through Sunday, 25 October. ANSVSA said immunisation will start immediately after every batch is received.
Authorities describe the campaign as strategically important for Romania's livestock sector. It became possible after technical talks with specialist structures of the European Commission, which allowed the European Union's vaccine reserves to be activated quickly.
ANSVSA said the vaccination, in the form announced, will not affect exports of carcasses and dairy products from sheep and goats. The vaccines come from the EU's emergency reserves. The Romanian state will cover logistics in full, including labour, travel by veterinarians and the equipment needed for the interventions. Animal owners will not pay.
Romanian authorities completed the technical and legal steps required to obtain the vaccines. The process began on 21 September, when Bucharest officially asked the European Commission for support. Detailed national plans were sent on 23 September, and the requested compliance clarifications were provided on 5 October. Three days later, on 8 October, the European Commission activated the strategic vaccine reserves.
Distribution across the country and vaccination itself will begin after official receipt of all batches. County sanitary veterinary and food safety directorates have already prepared local logistics plans. Interventions will be organised first in active outbreak areas and in restriction zones.
The first logistics effort will focus on Constanța and Tulcea, where high exposure requires a rapid response. Veterinary teams estimate that vaccination in these areas could be finished within an optimal interval. Authorised private practitioners and concessionaire veterinarians will contact animal owners directly to set the date and time.
The campaign is compulsory. Farmers do not need to submit written applications or formal requests. Planning will use the existing census in the National Database.
Sheep and goat breeders have one obligation, whatever the size of the holding: to be present at the farm and to prepare the animals for vaccination by restraint or grouping, so the procedure can be carried out quickly and safely.
After the vaccine is given, the flock's immunological status will be recorded in a standard report completed on the spot and signed by both the veterinarian and the owner. The information will be entered immediately into the national computer system.
ANSVSA said the main objective is to create the sanitary and legal conditions for lifting restrictions and resuming live-animal exports to countries outside the European Union. According to the authority, that market takes most of Romania's sheep production. Resumption of exports to EU member states is planned for a later stage. Emergency vaccination is treated as an internationally recognised tool for quickly extinguishing outbreaks, protecting national territory and meeting the sanitary requirements needed to restart exports.