Lisbon, June 24, 2025 (Lusa) - Contagious Nodular Dermatitis (CND), which affects cattle and some wild ruminants, has worsened in the European Union, prompting Portugal's DGAV to urge producers, traders, and veterinarians to strengthen safety measures to prevent the virus from entering the country.

"The DGAV [Directorate-General for Food and Veterinary Affairs], as the National Veterinary Health Authority, and in order to reduce the risk of CNCD being introduced into the country, requests the cooperation of producers, traders, industrialists, transporters, veterinarians and all those who deal with cattle to reinforce preventive measures,” according to an information note.

The sector must therefore apply biosecurity measures on farms, assembly centres and warehouses, control vectors through the use of insecticides and external antiparasitics, and clean, disinfect vehicles and ships transporting animals.

Report any suspicion of the occurrence of this disease to the DGAV.

In the European Union (EU), the epidemiological situation of CWD has become more challenging following the introduction of the disease in Italy, particularly on a farm with 131 cattle in Orani, on the island of Sardinia.

CWD affects cattle and certain species of wild ruminants, such as water buffalo, and is caused by a virus from the Poxviridae family. Insects such as flies, mosquitoes and ticks transmit the virus.

The virus can also spread through direct contact between sick and healthy animals or through contaminated water and food.

In cattle, the disease typically manifests with symptoms such as fever, anorexia, excessive salivation, ocular and nasal discharge, decreased milk production, and weight loss.

Skin lesions in the form of nodules and swellings may appear.

The mortality rate is around 10%.

PE/ADB // ADB.

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