---
title: "Hungary suggests possible 'biological attack' linked to foot-and-mouth outbreak"
description: "BUDAPEST, April 10 (Reuters) - Hungary suggested on Thursday a \"biological attack\" as a possible source of the country's first foot-and-mouth disease outbreak in more than half a century, which has triggered border closures and the mass slaughter of cattle in the northwest."
type: "NewsArticle"
publisher: "Daily Maverick"
site: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za"
section: "Foot-and-mouth"
author: "Reuters"
author_url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/author/reuters/"
canonical_url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2025-04-10-hungary-suggests-possible-biological-attack-linked-to-foot-and-mouth-outbreak/"
published: "2025-04-10T12:58:31"
updated: "2025-04-10T12:58:33"
lang: "en-ZA"
word_count: 271
---

# Hungary suggests possible 'biological attack' linked to foot-and-mouth outbreak

> BUDAPEST, April 10 (Reuters) - Hungary suggested on Thursday a "biological attack" as a possible source of the country's first foot-and-mouth disease outbreak in more than half a century, which has triggered border closures and the mass slaughter of cattle in the northwest.

By Reuters · Published 10 April 2025, 14:58 SAST · Updated 10 April 2025, 14:58 SAST

## Key points
- In a bovine twist that has Hungary moo-ving into crisis mode, the country faces its first foot-and-mouth disease outbreak in half a century, prompting mass cattle culling and border closures, while officials speculate whether the virus might have been engineered rather than naturally occurring—because why not throw a conspiracy into the mix?
- Hungary reports its first foot-and-mouth disease case in over 50 years, prompting the culling of thousands of cattle.
- Austria and Slovakia close multiple border crossings as the disease spreads in Slovakia.
- Hungarian officials suggest the virus may be artificially engineered, hinting at a possible biological attack.
- Authorities confirm no new outbreaks have been detected, with ongoing sampling efforts in place.

## Content

Hungary [reported a first case of foot-and-mouth disease](https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AS8N3L202U&linkedFromStory=true) in over 50 years on a cattle farm in the northwest near the border with Austria and Slovakia last month, the World Organisation for Animal Health said, citing Hungarian authorities.

Thousands of cattle had to be culled as the landlocked country tries to contain the outbreak, while Austria and Slovakia have closed dozens of border crossings, after the disease also appeared in the southern part of Slovakia.

"At this stage, we can say that it cannot be ruled out that the virus was not of natural origin, we may be dealing with an artificially engineered virus," Prime Minister Viktor Orban's chief of staff, Gergely Gulyas told a media briefing.

Responding to a question, Gulyas said he could not rule out that the virus outbreak was the result of a biological attack, without giving information on who might be responsible.

He also said that suspicion was based on verbal information received from a foreign laboratory and that their findings have not yet been fully proven and documented.

Hungary's cattle stock numbered 861,000 head based on a livestock census in December, little changed from levels a year earlier. That constituted 1.2% of the European Union's total cattle stocks, official statistics showed.

Foot-and-mouth disease poses no danger to humans but causes fever and mouth blisters in cloven-hoofed ruminants such as cattle, swine, sheep and goats, and outbreaks often lead to trade restrictions.

Gulyas told reporters that no fresh outbreak has been detected, and authorities were continuously taking samples.

(Reporting by Krisztina Than, Anita Komuves and Gergely Szakacs, Editing by Louise Heavens, Elaine Hardcastle and David Evans)