Virus outbreak in Hungary: authorities do not rule out a biological attack
Hungarian authorities do not rule out that the recent outbreak of a dangerous virus was caused by deliberate infection — the investigation is considering the version of a biological attack.
Photo: EU2017EE Estonian Presidency, CC BY 2.0
The Hungarian government announced the possibility of a biological attack as the cause of a foot-and-mouth disease outbreak — a virus known for over 500 years. The statement was made during a press conference published on the official YouTube channel of the Hungarian government.
The disease has hit the country’s agricultural regions, led to mass livestock culling, and forced neighboring states to temporarily close their borders.
On April 10, Gergely Gulyás, head of Prime Minister Viktor Orbán's office, stated that authorities are considering various origins of the virus, including artificial modification.
According to him, human involvement cannot be completely ruled out — these suspicions are based on verbal information from a foreign laboratory.
The exact origin of the virus has not yet been confirmed, but the investigation is ongoing.
Earlier it was reported that as of April 8, Slovakia has temporarily closed 17 border crossings with Hungary and Austria and increased border control due to a foot-and-mouth disease outbreak. The restrictions will be in effect until May 7 to prevent the spread of the disease.
It was also reported that Poland has tightened round-the-clock border control with the Czech Republic and Slovakia after an outbreak of the disease was discovered at a Hungarian farm, aiming to prevent the virus from spreading.