The Battle against Foot-and-Mouth Disease in Albania (1938–1939)
Memorie.al/In the last century, the world has been repeatedly struck by various epidemics and pandemics, which undoubtedly affected Albania as well. However, it should be noted that the consequences for Albania, for one reason or another, were not fatal.
In the previous century, Albania was affected by a global epidemic known as “Aphtha Epizootica” or, as it is commonly known, Foot-and-Mouth Disease (FMD). This virus was first discovered in 1897, but it has appeared repeatedly in different countries and continues to surface today. The virus affects animals, primarily cattle and small livestock.
Because animals live in herds, the spread is rapid and extensive, severely damaging the country’s livestock economy. In rare cases, transmission from animals to humans has also been observed.
Dr. Vasfi Samim wrote extensively about the “Aphtha Epizootica” epidemic in the 1939 issue of the magazine Ekonomia Kombëtare (National Economy), where he explains the first phase of Albania’s confrontation with this virus.
In his article, Dr. Samim highlights that Albania had episodic cases of this virus at the end of World War I, around 1918. During the Austro-Hungarian administration of part of Albania, sporadic cases were identified in Tirana, Durrës, and Kavajë. Animals imported by the Austro-Hungarian army for both traction and consumption, sourced from various Balkan countries, are considered the primary cause of the epidemic’s spread at that time.
“Both the farmers and livestock breeders of the mountainous regions of Kukës and Peshkopi, as well as the villagers of Korça and Gjirokastra, confirm that in the past, Aphtha Epizootica caused significant damage to the cloven-hoofed animals of these areas. In short, for 20 years since then, this disease has never been seen in Albania,” Samim writes.
On the other hand, in 1928, the Veterinary Service was established in Albania, and continuous inspections were conducted on local livestock without detecting a single case of this disease.
Referring to the 1938 epidemic, Dr. Samim writes that the latest outbreak, which originated in Africa and infected France, England, Germany, and all of Central Europe, reached the borders of Albania in 1938.
Due to its developmental stage, Albania was a country with an economy heavily based on livestock wealth. Therefore, a disease striking this sector meant a paralysis of the economy and numerous resulting problems. Animals and their products constituted 50–75% of Albania’s exports in those years.
“In this way, it is easily understood that if Aphtha were to enter Albania, the majority of national trade would be paralyzed. A dangerous consequence of this prohibition would cause a drop in prices and damage to livestock and traders for their efforts. In Albania, land cultivation and the movement of carts were done almost 90% by ox-carts, and the arrival of this disease in Albania would lead to a lack of traction power for the villagers,” Samim further notes.
Since the virus did not exist in Albania, local authorities were very attentive to the progress of the disease in Europe and other neighboring states to prevent imported cases.
The infection of Albania by Foot-and-Mouth disease could only occur through Italy, Yugoslavia, and Greece. The risk from Italy was considered small because the countries were not connected by land borders and Albania did not import animals or animal products from Italy; with Italy, Albania was only an exporter.
Regarding Yugoslavia, the situation was quite different, as Albania shared a long border in the North and Northeast. The prefectures of Shkodër, Kukës, Peshkopi, Elbasan, and Korçë were close to Yugoslavia.
In the determination of political borders that did not respect Albania’s ethnic boundaries, an abnormal situation had been created. A significant portion of villagers in border areas had their lands and pastures on the other side of the border in Yugoslavia; thus, cross-border movement was seen as facilitating the introduction of the virus into Albania.
In 1934, Albania and Yugoslavia had signed a restricted traffic treaty providing facilities for border area villagers who, through a special 48-hour permit, were allowed to go to their lands to work them. According to this protocol, villagers could take their animals with them for grazing. Movement across the borders of the five prefectures was conducted through nine sectors, allowing freedom up to 30 kilometers in depth, with residents of hundreds of villages constantly on the move.
Thus, it is understood that the approach of “Aphtha Epizootica” to the Albanian border put Albanian livestock at great risk. Consequently, the government took an interest in the progress of this epidemic in Europe, with specific and increased attention toward Yugoslavia.
For the first time, the Minister of Economy, Terenc Toçi, foreseeing the danger – especially with the spread of the disease in Hungary and its approach to Yugoslavia – issued a circular telegram on January 29, 1938. This was the first official appeal made to all veterinary offices of the Albanian Kingdom, calling for increased vigilance and ordering the inspection of all cloven-hoofed animals in border areas.
The initial findings were satisfactory, confirming once again that Albania was clear of “Aphtha Epizootica.” On February 3, 1938, anticipating the risk, another circular was sent to all prefectures, municipalities, and customs offices regarding the threat to European livestock, requesting increased care and cooperation with the civil administration.
“As seen from these two official appeals, they predate the entry of Aphtha Epizootica into Yugoslavia. According to the official bulletin published by the Ministry of Agriculture in Belgrade, it appears that Aphtha Epizootica first entered Yugoslavia on November 14, 1938, initially infecting only 11 farms.”
In this manner, the veterinary service and the Albanian administration followed the development of the disease in the neighboring state step-by-step and took timely protective measures. Until this time, although the disease had surrounded the five Albanian prefectures with border relations, it had not yet managed to enter and infect Albanian livestock.
Quarantine and Restrictive Measures
The implementation of strict quarantine measures taken for farmers and breeders by veterinarians, their assistants, and the gendarmerie, according to Samim, involved much suffering.
“The villagers, being closed off for months when necessary within the quarantine along with their livestock, suffered themselves for bread and the animals for feed. Likewise, veterinarians and their assistants were, in cases of need, shut inside infected villages and never left the quarantine so as not to become causes for the spread of the disease themselves.”
Some of the veterinary service personnel, traveling through their zones in snow-covered mountains, met with accidents. A veterinary guard in the prefecture of Kukës was found dead by villagers while traveling from one village to another for inspection. A veterinary nurse lost his way in a snowstorm and accidentally crossed the border, where he was found by Yugoslav border authorities in danger of death.
Villagers of the Peshkopi prefecture in the Bllatë commune transported firewood with their carts without compensation to help the residents of the village of Blopçishtë, which was infected and surrounded by a strict quarantine, leaving them without wood in the middle of a harsh winter. Three-quarters of the veterinary personnel from the prefectures of Gjirokastra, Vlorë, Berat, Durrës, Tirana, and Elbasan were sent to the border to form a strong control line.
Closing the Borders
As the disease spread gradually in Yugoslavia and continued for a long time to descend from north to south, the Albanian veterinary service was forced, along with closing the border, to ban all movement of people and animals to Yugoslavia.
Initially, the movement of animals and animal products was banned; as the scale of infection expanded, the movement of people and general communication were also prohibited. Only veterinary doctors, midwives, and official employees were exempt from this general ban, though even their movement was controlled by special permits.
Samim recounts that at every entry point for vehicles and other means of transport, disinfection was carried out with antiseptics such as soda, lime juice, and creolin. At border gates, a thick bed of lime was spread, and pits with antiseptic liquids were placed for travelers to wipe their feet.
Political refugees or exceptional cases of passengers crossing the border were forced to change their clothes, shoes, and socks at the border and wear new ones. These items were held at the border and returned after disinfection. A final order to close the border was issued by the Prime Minister’s office on December 21, 1938, containing five main points:
- Complete ban on the movement of people, animals, and agricultural materials from infected zones.
- Those wishing to go to Yugoslavia were free to do so but could not return until the disease ended.
- Albanian veterinarians were authorized to consult with Yugoslav colleagues on technical problems.
- If the disease was distant, the border closed only for animals/products; people could move after disinfection.
- All administrative, veterinary, and gendarmerie personnel were required to report any suspicion to the Minister immediately.
Formation of the Control Line and Neutral Zones
When the epidemic approached the Kukës prefecture, the Ministry of National Economy transferred most veterinary employees from Central and Southern Albania to the Northeast. Each technician was assigned a specific monitoring zone of 3–10 villages, with the duty to constantly inspect cloven-hoofed animals and report every 24 hours.
Special “war” groups were formed in each prefecture:
- Zone 1 (Shkodër): Led by Dr. Masar Dervishi (graduated in Vienna).
- Zone 2 (Kukës): Led by Dr. Anton Kiçi (graduated in Pisa and Bologna).
- Zone 3 (Peshkopi): Led by Dr. Nuri Dino (graduated in Turin).
- Zone 4 (Korçë): Led by Dr. Xhavit Arifi (graduated in Toulouse).
To prevent smuggling, “Neutral Zones” were created where all animals were forced 1–3 kilometers away from the border line. This was a harsh measure as relocated animals often lacked food or stalls.
The Special Council and the “Stamping Out” Method
A Special Technical Council was formed at the Ministry of National Economy to study the epidemic and combat methods. On December 30, 1938, they decided to apply the “stamping out” method (immediate culling) at the first sign of the disease. They also planned to use 100,000 doses of the Voderman vaccine, though the Albanian legation in Berlin was unable to secure them.
“The First Case”
On December 2, 1938, the Ministry was notified of a suspected case in the village of Pobreg, Kukës. High-ranking officials, including the Deputy Minister, immediately traveled there. Once confirmed as an imported case from Yugoslavia, 85 sick or suspect cattle were slaughtered and buried. Owners were compensated according to the law. The village was surrounded by three cordons of force to prevent any entry or exit. Through these strict measures, the disease disappeared in Pobreg within 15 days.
On January 7, 1939, a second outbreak occurred in the village of Borje (Lulzim). Since the cases were mild and the number of animals large, instead of culling, strict quarantine and disinfection were applied. The disease was cleared by February 14, 1939.
The first phase of protection against this disease lasted 14 months. Dr. Samim highlights at the end of his article that while the second phase appeared more difficult, the measures taken successfully halted the spread and placed the epidemic under control. In later years, the disease was present in the country but never again at a scale that could destroy the national livestock economy.Memorie.al
