An absolute collapse in the fight against infectious diseases. This is how the former director of the Bulgarian Food Safety Agency (BFSA), Dr. Angel Mavrovski, commented on the situation with animal diseases in the country to the Bulgarian National Radio.
"What we are observing is an unprecedented neglect of animal health problems", he said, after another outbreak of sheep pox was discovered in Southern Bulgaria, and shortly before that - an outbreak of brucellosis in cattle, which resulted in human infection.
"I hope that another outbreak of pox will not lead to a new wave. But given the situation with numerous illegal movements in the country, which I am being signaled about, it is very likely that we are on the verge of a new wave," commented Mavrovski, quoted by news.bg.
He specified that he was referring to illegal transport and illegal slaughterhouses. "Over 70% of the sheep in the country go for illegal slaughter", the former head of the Bulgarian Food Safety Agency pointed out. Angel Mavrovski pointed out that meat from illegal slaughterhouses goes to legally registered enterprises and reaches the end consumers. "If the current management of the agency is willing, I can point them to the relevant sites. The point is that I do not notice any will to fight", he pointed out.
Dr. Mavrovski also said that at the moment three people are affected by brucellosis. "Unfortunately, in the coming days we may witness more. This is in the Simitli region. There are several outbreaks," he added, emphasizing that control should be much stricter.
We recall that in May Mavrovski was dismissed from the post of director of the Bulgarian Food Safety Authority. He raised the alarm about the possibility of manipulation of data on pesticides in fruits and vegetables at "Kapitan Andreevo".
Angel Mavrovski was appointed to the post at the end of February by the caretaker government, and in recent months his activities have been associated with serious revelations about illegal slaughterhouses, closed meat processing plants, and tons of destroyed produce due to non-compliance with legal safety requirements.