Published Date: 2021-06-12 14:12:11
Subject: PRO/AH/EDR> Foot & mouth disease - Iraq: (DI) livestock, spread, RFI
Archive Number: 20210612.8443121
FOOT & MOUTH DISEASE - IRAQ: (DIYALA) LIVESTOCK, SPREAD, REQUEST FOR INFORMATION
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Date: Fri 11 Jun 2021
Source: Iraq News [in Arabic, machine trans., abridged, edited]
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Some buffalo breeders in Diyala governorate complained Friday [11 Jun 2021] about the spread of foot-and-mouth disease [FMD] among the buffalo herds kept in the governorate, while veterinary cadres are working to prevent its spread by vaccinating these flocks.
An owner of a livestock farm in Diyala Governorate, [HT], said that "this wave of FMD is considered the most dangerous to the life of livestock. It has begun to spread and is killing livestock, and we have recorded the death of a number of buffaloes with this dangerous disease. We have taken urgent measures to stop its spread; the rest of the buffaloes have been vaccinated to keep them safe."
He pointed out that "if this disease had not been quickly tackled and contained, a disaster would have occurred in the livestock sector in Diyala, but we made contact with the Diyala Veterinary Department, which in turn worked with us by conducting a vaccination campaign to avoid the spread of the disease."
The Director of the Veterinary Hospital in Diyala Governorate, Mahmoud Al-Shammari, told IQ News, "The veterinary hospital launched a wide campaign that will last 4 weeks, starting from 1 Jun 2021, to treat foot-and-mouth disease, which represents one of the most dangerous and deadly diseases for livestock, especially cows and buffaloes. About 25 teams from the hospital have paid field visits to apply the vaccinations to cows and buffaloes to prevent the spread of foot-and-mouth disease in the governorate."
He stressed that "the vaccine was secured in the hospital, and we have about 17 000 doses designated to protect buffaloes and cows in Diyala."
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[The Diyala Governorate extends to the northeast of Baghdad as far as the Iranian border.
According to the FMD World Reference Laboratory (Pirbright), FMD is regarded endemic in Iraq (https://www.wrlfmd.org/western-and-central-asia/iraq). Iraq implemented an FMD control program since the 1970s, with the Al Dora FMD laboratories carrying out the diagnosis and typing of field strains. These labs were upgraded in the 1980s, becoming vaccine producers for the local and regional vaccination projects, using trivalent vaccines (FMDV serotypes A, O, and Asia 1). Reportedly, later, economic sanctions on Iraq led to suspension of work, disabling the FMD vaccine production and weakening the FMD control program in Iraq. For a historical review of Iraq's FMD epidemiology, see Ref 1.
Laboratory confirmation and information on the results of serotyping and genotyping of the currently circulating strain are requested.
Reference
1. Al-Salihi KA. The epidemiology of foot-and-mouth disease outbreaks and its history in Iraq. Vet World. 2019; 12(5): 706-12. http://www.veterinaryworld.org/Vol.12/May-2019/13.html
- Mod.AS
HealthMap/ProMED map:
Diyala Governorate, Iraq: http://healthmap.org/promed/p/25543]
