BREAKING: Slovakia closes borders with Hungary due to disease outbreak

Slovakia has temporarily shut down small border crossings with Hungary following a new outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) in Hungary. Only four major border crossings remain open—Rajka, Medve, Komárom, and Párkány—where disinfection gates or footbaths will be installed to sanitise all vehicles crossing the border.

The scope of the restrictions remains somewhat unclear, particularly regarding whether crossings east of Párkány or secondary routes in Komárom are also affected, ÚjSzó reports. Reports suggest that the Rajka crossing referenced likely pertains to the motorway border point, meaning the older road crossing between Rajka and Rusovce (Oroszvár) may be closed.

Background: new case detected

The decision comes after Hungarian authorities detected FMD in cattle in Levél, near Mosonmagyaróvár, leading to the culling of 2,300 animals, as Telex reported. Slovakia’s Interior Minister, Matúš Šutaj Eštok, cited the outbreak as the primary reason for the restrictions.

The first physical symptoms appeared on Tuesday in the 3,000-head cattle herd. The presence of foot-and-mouth disease was confirmed on Wednesday morning. Chief veterinarian Szabolcs Pásztor has taken several immediate measures, including ordering the destruction of the entire herd, which will commence within days, and investigating possible contact farms.

Foot-and-mouth disease was detected at a cattle farm in Kisbajcs, in the west of the country, early in March. Before that, the disease had last been detected in Hungary in 1973.

This move echoes past border controls, such as Slovakia’s 2023 temporary reinstatement of checks due to migration pressures, though the current measures are strictly disease-related. No timeline has been provided for how long the restrictions will remain in place.

Read also:

• Tightened controls at the Slovak-Hungarian border due to virus outbreak