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Bicommunal Health Committee Cooperating on Foot-and-Mouth Disease

Published February 21, 2026, 12:08
Bicommunal Health Committee Cooperating on Foot-and-Mouth Disease

There is cooperation through the bicommunal Technical Committee on Health regarding the issue of foot-and-mouth disease, stated the Greek Cypriot co-chair of the Committee, Leonidas Phylactou. Committee members are in contact and have held meetings to exchange information regarding the outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease in the occupied areas, with the last meeting taking place on Monday, before a case was confirmed in the free areas. Mr. Phylactou was assured by the Turkish Cypriot side that security measures are being taken and monitoring is being carried out in the areas that have been quarantined in the occupied territories. He also confirmed that the disease has not spread from the initial outbreak in Lapatho. Regarding the vaccines against foot-and-mouth disease sent from the EU for the Turkish Cypriots, Mr. Phylactou stated that they were delivered last Friday and vaccinations are continuing in the occupied territories. He noted that the Turkish Cypriot side chose the policy of vaccination to avoid culling animals due to the economic consequences. In addition, the heads of the Technical Committees met in London this week, under the auspices of Maria Angela Holguin, Personal Envoy of the UN Secretary-General, with the aim of exchanging experiences and evaluating the cooperation of the Committees to date.