The European Union is stepping up scrutiny of Greece’s response to sheep and goat pox, as new outbreaks continue to emerge and questions grow over the effectiveness of the country’s efforts to contain the disease.
A circular issued October 1 by Greece’s Ministry of Rural Development and Food requires a serological surveillance program across nine regions of mainland Greece. The measure, recommended by the European Union, is intended to detect antibodies to the virus through laboratory testing of blood samples from sheep and goats.
The results could have significant consequences for Greek livestock farmers and the country’s dairy industry. If testing reveals a high proportion of antibody-positive flocks, Greece could be considered endemic for the disease, potentially threatening exports of dairy products made from sheep’s and goat’s milk, including feta cheese.
The ministry has acknowledged improvements in the epidemiological situation during the first half of 2026. However, the recent appearance of the disease in areas previously considered free of infection has renewed concerns about whether the outbreak is under control.
Testing program follows EU concerns
The serological surveillance program is expected to begin in the Epirus region on October 12 and must be completed by December 31. It will cover 153 livestock farms in each region.
Samples will be analyzed by the Veterinary Laboratory in Larissa, the Thessaloniki Veterinary Centers and the Veterinary Research Institute of the Hellenic Agricultural Organization ELGO-DIMITRA in Thermi, near Thessaloniki.
Serological surveillance involves laboratory testing of blood samples to detect antibodies against the sheep and goat pox virus. Finding antibodies in a flock without visible clinical symptoms could indicate a previous infection that was not detected or reported to the authorities. It could also be associated with the unauthorized use of a vaccine against the disease.
The EU Veterinary Emergency Team (EU VET), which has been providing technical assistance to Greece since a major wave of animal disease outbreaks began about two and a half years ago, recommended the surveillance program amid concerns that the virus may still be circulating undetected.
According to the report, EU experts have also questioned whether Greece is effectively implementing the strategy of eradicating the virus. Their concerns have been heightened by the government’s acknowledgment that more than one million unauthorized vaccine doses may have been administered.
How the EU intervention developed
On July 15, 2026, the EU VET held an online meeting with the Greek agriculture ministry as part of its technical assistance to the country.
Several months earlier, livestock farmers in the Thessalian plain had requested permission to rebuild their flocks, arguing that their area had remained free of new outbreaks for almost six months.
However, on July 17, Greece reported nine new sheep and goat pox outbreaks to the World Animal Health Information System (WAHIS), including one at a livestock farm in Farsala, in the Larissa regional unit.
During the July meeting, European experts asked whether Greece needed technical assistance to develop a nationwide serological surveillance plan. The proposed objectives were to establish whether the virus was continuing to circulate undetected, provide a high level of confidence that no undetected infection remained across mainland Greece, and determine whether unauthorized vaccination had taken place.
Sources cited by the Greek news outlet in.gr characterized the exchange as an initial step toward closer and stricter oversight of the ministry rather than simply a request for technical assistance.
The report said European officials had become concerned that the epidemiological picture presented by Greece did not fully reflect the situation on the ground.
More than 2,200 outbreaks and nearly 496,000 animals culled
Concerns intensified after Greece presented data to the European Commission’s Standing Committee on Plants, Animals, Food and Feed, specifically its animal health discussions, during meetings on September 17 and 18.
The figures covered the period from August 2024 through Sept. 9, 2026. By the latter date, Greece had recorded 2,271 outbreaks of sheep and goat pox and culled 495,918 animals.
The disease had not been brought under control in any of the nine regions of mainland Greece, according to the data presented. Protection zones remained in force across the mainland, indicating that outbreaks had occurred recently.
The ministry’s presentation also identified possible routes of transmission. In an outbreak reported in a livestock farm in Arta on Aug. 5, 2026, the ministry noted that animal-feed suppliers and milk collection companies had previously visited other infected farms and could therefore have been a source of infection.
In Argolida, a farm tested positive on August 28. The ministry attributed the possible introduction of the virus to inadequate biosecurity measures and the area’s proximity to previously confirmed outbreaks.
The situation continued to deteriorate in October. On October 7, positive cases were confirmed in Diasello, in the Arta area, while new outbreaks were also reported in Rodopi, in northeastern Greece.
In Rodopi, more than 250 animals had been culled the previous week. Four additional outbreaks led to the culling of more than 600 animals, bringing the total number killed in the area to more than 850 in just one week.
The EU VET concluded that the disease had not been brought under control after nearly two and a half years. Despite the implementation of control measures required under EU Regulation 2020/687, new outbreaks were appearing in geographically distant areas. The team identified two possible explanations: long-distance transmission of the virus or continued circulation that existing surveillance systems had failed to detect.
Unauthorized vaccination raises further questions
The government’s acknowledgment of unauthorized vaccination has become a central issue in the EU’s assessment.
On November 20, 2025, Charalampos Billinis, then head of Greece’s National Scientific Committee for the Management and Control of Sheep Pox, said there was information indicating that more than one million vaccine doses had been administered illegally.
Bilinis made the statement at a press conference alongside Spyros Protopsaltis, Secretary General, Ministry of Rural Development and Food. According to sources cited by in.gr, Bilinis repeated the acknowledgment on other occasions, including at a meeting with relevant stakeholders in Parliament and during discussions with livestock farmers.
The report said European partners had taken note of these statements and were assessing them alongside the epidemiological data provided by Greece.
The ministry’s October 1 circular sets out the procedures for collecting and testing samples but does not specify how farms with antibody-positive animals will be handled. That omission has alarmed farmers and raised questions about whether positive results will trigger further culling and restrictions.
Farmers seek clarity on the consequences
The uncertainty has prompted calls for the government to explain the scientific purpose of the testing, how the results will be used and what measures will follow if antibodies are detected.
Andreas Filias, deputy regional governor for agricultural development in Western Greece, wrote to Agriculture Minister Margaritis Schinas shortly after the circular was issued, requesting clarification on these points. He also asked whether positive results could lead to sanctions or the culling of animals.
The Geotechnical Chamber of Greece, which represents professionals in agricultural and related scientific fields, has raised similar concerns.
Vasiliki Zafeiropoulou, a member of the chamber’s board, told in.gr that the circular provides detailed instructions through the delivery of samples to laboratories but says nothing about the management of animals and farms where antibodies are detected.
She argued that the consequences are not simply a matter for future negotiation, pointing to EU rules governing the classification of disease cases.
Under Article 9 of EU Regulation 2020/689, an animal or group of animals may be classified as a confirmed case of a listed or emerging disease when an indirect diagnostic test returns a positive result, provided that the result is not attributable to vaccination and the specified clinical or epidemiological conditions are met.
In the context of the Greek surveillance program, a positive serological result could therefore lead to a flock being classified as an outbreak, with culling and other control measures applied under the relevant rules. The report said the ministry’s circular does not explain this potential outcome to farmers.
Zafeiropoulou criticized what she described as attempts to mislead farmers and the public by suggesting that the classification of antibody-positive flocks remained open to negotiation and that culling could consequently be avoided.
Export risks depend on the test results
The outcome of the surveillance program could determine the scale of the threat to Greece’s livestock and dairy sectors.
One scenario is that testing reveals a high proportion of antibody-positive flocks, whether because of unauthorized vaccination or undetected circulation of the virus. In that case, Greece could be considered endemic for sheep and goat pox, potentially leading to restrictions on exports of dairy products made from sheep’s and goat’s milk, including products protected under the European Union’s protected designation of origin (PDO) system, such as feta.
A more favorable outcome would be a low prevalence of antibody-positive flocks, suggesting that the disease is under control. However, the report said the current epidemiological picture across mainland Greece does not support that scenario.
The uncertainty has also put the rebuilding of flocks on hold, adding to farmers’ concerns about the future of their businesses.
Calls grow for an official vaccination strategy
Livestock farmers, the Geotechnical Chamber of Greece and many scientists have called for a formal vaccination strategy, supported by scientific criteria and stronger public veterinary services to monitor its implementation.
The chamber has pointed to the availability of vaccines through the European Vaccine Bank and to the EU legal framework governing their use, including Regulation 2023/361.
It has urged the government to mobilize the scientific community, activate the National Center for Disease Control and implement the emergency plan for sheep and goat pox.
The EU VET has also recommended developing vaccination strategies so that vaccination can begin without delay if authorities decide it is necessary.
The chamber said the government had failed to take these steps in the two and a half years since the outbreak began, adding that the accumulated mistakes and delays left no easy solutions.
The coming months will therefore be critical not only for determining how widely the virus has circulated, but also for clarifying the measures that will apply to affected flocks and the potential consequences for Greece’s livestock farmers and dairy exports.
