Authorities in the Moscow region have introduced a quarantine after lumpy skin disease was detected in cattle in several towns and villages about 25 kilometers (16 miles) from Moscow, according to a document on the regional government’s website on Wednesday.
Lumpy skin disease is a viral infection mainly spread by biting insects that affects cattle. It causes fever and painful skin lumps, weakens animals and reduces milk output. The disease does not infect humans.
The disease, which is widespread in North Africa, was detected in several European countries last year. Authorities in France ordered infected cows culled, sparking protests from farm unions.
The Moscow regional government’s order banned the transport of cattle, cattle products, including milk, and feed to and from the quarantined area. It also banned agricultural fairs there.
Earlier this week, authorities in the Irkutsk region near Lake Baikal in Siberia imposed a lumpy skin disease quarantine in two settlements and said infected animals would have to be culled.
An outbreak of cattle diseases officially identified as pasteurellosis or rabies in Siberia in spring led to the mass culling of livestock and sparked rare protests by local farmers.
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