Greek farmers dealt with floods last year. Now they're facing goat plague.

STORY: After being hit by disastrous floods last year, Greek farmers are facing a new crisis: goat plague.

:: Thessaly, Greece

:: July 30, 2024

The virus was first detected in Greece in July.

It doesn't infect humans but is highly contagious among goats and sheep, and can kill up to 70% of those infected.

Once a case is detected, the entire flock is culled.

Thousands of animals have been culled and hundreds of thousands tested.

The spread is forcing farmers to implement strict measures to protect their livestock and in turn, their livelihood.

:: THIS EARTH

This is the Stalos dairy farm.

It sits in Greece's Thessaly plain...

The region accounts for 25% of Greece's agricultural produce and 5% of its GDP.

:: September 7, 2023

It was devastated by floods in September 2023, affecting some 30,000 farmers.

Stalos farm owner Ioanna Karra says around 750 of their 800 animals drowned in the floods.

She says they cannot financially bear the slightest damage this year.

:: Ioanna Karra, Stalos dairy farm owner

"Now with the outbreak of the plague we have become much stricter with security measures in the unit, first of all the whole unit is fenced, no vehicle comes inside the unit area and the vehicles that come by necessity, for example the vehicle that picks up the milk and the vehicles for feed, are sprayed before entering."

Karra says the plague was a (quote) "crisis before the crisis."

She says the virus came into Greece because veterinary clinics are understaffed and do not make the necessary checks on imported animals.

During filming for this report, her farm was free of goat plague.

The government recently imposed a temporary ban on the slaughter and movement of sheep and goats.

It means Karra is not able to buy more animals to bulk up her flock, but can sell the milk.

:: Athens, Greece

Senior agriculture ministry official Georgios Stratakos says the government is looking into compensation for those affected by the ban and has ramped up its efforts.

:: Georgios Stratakos, Agriculture Ministry General Secretary

"We have a massive operation taking place at the moment, with more than 140 scientists, in the field, in medical labs, and in offices in order to support the administration of the operation, and at the moment they are in a state of red alert. We are operating with tens of veterinary teams in the field and we are trying to complete the clinical checks as soon as possible."

Stratakos says the root of the virus is still being investigated but that it was imported from another country.

The goat plague was first discovered in the Ivory Coast in 1942. The United Nation's Food and Agriculture Organization estimates that the disease results in losses of up to $2.1 billion globally each year.