Outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease in Batken

An outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) has been reported from the southwestern province of Batken, suspected by some Kyrgyz experts to be an extension of a recent outbreak in neighbouring Tajikistan. "There are 60 confirmed cases of the disease among animals," Sultanmurat Latipov, the deputy governor of Batken, told IRIN from the provincial capital, adding that treatment of infected animals was under way, coupled with prophylactic examinations of animals at farms. "The disease turned out to be of a less acute form, and the danger of its spreading has passed. However, we need to wait for some 20 days to be sure of localisation of the infection," he said. The Batken provincial veterinary department said some 70 cases affecting livestock had been registered in the province's Batken and Lyaylyak districts. The local experts said Ak-Bulak, Andarak, Beshkent and Kulunda villages of the Lyaylyak District were the most affected, adding that the first cases had been observed a month earlier. According to them, the disease could have come from the neighbouring districts of Tajikistan, where FMD cases had been reported previously. FMD is an acute highly infectious disease of cattle, pigs, sheep and goats, characterised by the formation of vesicular eruptions in the mouth and on the feet, especially around the hoofs. In rare cases it can be passed on to humans if there is close contact with an infected animal, but causes few or mild symptoms if it does occur. For animals, the infection is dangerous, because it spreads very rapidly and, given its nature, 10 veterinary quarantine posts were established on main roads and cattle assembly points. Also, all cattle markets in Batken Province have been closed and a ban imposed on the transfer of cattle from Batken to other provinces. Meanwhile, the veterinary departments of the neighbouring Osh and Jalal-Abad provinces have declared a quarantine on their borders with Batken Province, as well as with the bordering districts of Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. Alik Mirzaliev, a chief expert at the Osh provincial headquarters, told IRIN in Osh that vaccination of animals in the areas classified as danger zones, i.e. settlements close to the borders, was being implemented. Moreover, farmers had been told to keep their herds away from others and refrain from bringing fodder in from other regions. There had been no outbreak of FMD in southern Kyrgyzstan in recent years, he added.