PRAGUE, March 25 (Xinhua) -- The Czech Republic on Tuesday dispatched a team of 16 firefighters to neighboring Slovakia to assist in efforts to contain the spread of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD).

According to the Czech Fire and Rescue Service, the firefighters will support their Slovak colleagues with decontamination operations as part of the emergency response.

The Slovak government declared a state of emergency on Tuesday after confirming additional FMD cases at a fourth farm. The latest case was identified in the Dunajska Streda district, near the previously affected southern villages of Medvedov, Narad, and Baka, where the disease was first confirmed last Friday.

In response to the outbreak, the Czech Republic last week reinstated border controls with Slovakia. Czech police and veterinary inspectors are enforcing a ban on livestock imports from affected areas at four major border crossings.

Foot-and-mouth disease is a highly contagious viral illness that primarily affects cloven-hoofed animals such as cattle, pigs, sheep, and goats. It causes fever, loss of appetite, excessive salivation, and blisters on the mouth and feet.

In the Czech Republic, the disease was last detected in 1975. Enditem

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