Greek farmers have affirmed there is no cause for alarm regarding the deadly virus affecting sheep and goats, stating it will not have a detrimental impact on the production of feta.

Livestock industry officials have stressed that the high rate at which the infectious disease has spread is not of great concern to feta production, even though it has led to the culling of thousands of animals, as reported in The Guardian.

“Around 9,000 animals have had to be killed because of the outbreak but it won’t endanger feta exports,” said Christos Tsopanos, a senior figure at the Association of Greek Livestock (SEK).

“Our country has 14 million goats and sheep, more than any other [EU] state.”

Tsopanos stated that 120,000 tonnes of feta would be rolled out this year, confirming they have enough milk and that “authorities have moved fast to deal with this situation”.

The “sheep and goat plague”, officially known as peste des petits ruminants (PPR), can kill between 80% and 100% of infected animals and was first confirmed in Greece on 11 July.

EU regulations state that if a PPR case is detected in any herd the entire flock must be culled, while affected areas, including farmsteads, have to be disinfected.

In response to the situation, Greece’s ministry of rural development and food have imposed nationwide restrictions on the movement of goats and sheep.

Over 200,000 animals have been tested for the infection, mainly in the central Thessaly region where the outbreak was first reported.

Greece’s minister of agriculture and rural development, Kostas Tsiaras, has also banned the commercial slaughter of goats and sheep, raising fears of meat shortages if it lasts for long.

The ministry said in a statement that “tightening security measures across the country is deemed necessary for preventive reasons and is aimed at limiting the spread and eradicating the disease”.

Greek officials like SEK’s vice-president Dimitris Moskos have stressed that the virus does not affect humans.

“This is the first time it has appeared in Greece and we now believe it was imported from Romania in herds destined for slaughter,” Moskos said.

The virus was first recorded in 1942 in Ivory Coast before spreading around the world, with the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation estimating the disease accounts for losses worth up to $2.1 billion (about £1.6 billion) every year.