Greece bans movement of goats and sheep due to 'goat plague'

The virus , also known as Peste des Petits Ruminants (PPR), does not affect humans, but is highly contagious among goats and sheep and can kill up to 70% of infected animals.

About 8,000 animals have been culled and more than 200,000 tested, mostly in the central region of Thessaly, where authorities first detected the outbreak on July 11, Georgios Stratakos, a senior agriculture ministry official, told REUTERS.

“Strengthening security measures across the country is considered necessary for preventive purposes and aims to limit the spread and eradicate the disease,” the ministry said in a statement.

PPR was first described in Ivory Coast in 1942 and has since spread throughout the world. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations estimates that the disease causes up to $2.1 billion in losses worldwide each year .