A local official in Basra Province, 600km south of Baghdad, said on 7 February that there has been an outbreak in the province of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD), a highly contagious disease affecting cloven-hoofed animals, in particular cattle, sheep, pigs, goats, camelids and deer.
“As of 26 January, our tests found that 1,125 animals were infected with the disease in the entire province while some cases started to appear in nearby provinces,” Dr Mushtaq Abdul-Mahdi al-Hilfi, general director of the province’s veterinary hospital, said.
“But we do believe that the number of cases is higher than this; probably slightly more than 50 percent of the province’s nearly 120,000 livestock have been affected because many cases in remote areas have gone unreported,” al-Hilfi told IRIN.
So far, the FMD outbreak has killed about 80 young (less than six months old) cattle, buffalos, goats and sheep, al-Hilfi said.
He said that there are five types of the disease and the available vaccine, which is given to livestock every six months, can treat only two of them. Al-Hilfi added that infected animals are given antibiotics and pain-killers until the disease type is determined.
“We have already sent samples to laboratories in London to determine which type has hit Basra and we are expecting to receive the results and new vaccines within the coming few days,” he added.
He explained that that most cattle owners, especially those who live in remote areas, have difficulties travelling to the city to report FMD cases and his teams are unable to reach them as his hospital has only two old vehicles.
FMD causes sores, blisters and fever, and is deadly or debilitating for livestock. It does not infect humans, but its appearance on farms can have a major economic impact.
However, Dr Sabah Jassim, the general director of the Basra-based Veterinary Company, which is affiliated to the Agriculture Ministry, played down al-Hilfi's statements.
"It is an endemic disease in Iraq and it is normal; it is a disease like other diseases that hit animals. The Iraqi Agriculture Ministry is adopting a scientific plan to deal with it," Jassim told IRIN without elaborating. He blamed the cattle owners for not sending their cattle for routine tests and vaccinations.
sm/ar/ed
“As of 26 January, our tests found that 1,125 animals were infected with the disease in the entire province while some cases started to appear in nearby provinces,” Dr Mushtaq Abdul-Mahdi al-Hilfi, general director of the province’s veterinary hospital, said.
“But we do believe that the number of cases is higher than this; probably slightly more than 50 percent of the province’s nearly 120,000 livestock have been affected because many cases in remote areas have gone unreported,” al-Hilfi told IRIN.
So far, the FMD outbreak has killed about 80 young (less than six months old) cattle, buffalos, goats and sheep, al-Hilfi said.
He said that there are five types of the disease and the available vaccine, which is given to livestock every six months, can treat only two of them. Al-Hilfi added that infected animals are given antibiotics and pain-killers until the disease type is determined.
“We have already sent samples to laboratories in London to determine which type has hit Basra and we are expecting to receive the results and new vaccines within the coming few days,” he added.
He explained that that most cattle owners, especially those who live in remote areas, have difficulties travelling to the city to report FMD cases and his teams are unable to reach them as his hospital has only two old vehicles.
FMD causes sores, blisters and fever, and is deadly or debilitating for livestock. It does not infect humans, but its appearance on farms can have a major economic impact.
However, Dr Sabah Jassim, the general director of the Basra-based Veterinary Company, which is affiliated to the Agriculture Ministry, played down al-Hilfi's statements.
"It is an endemic disease in Iraq and it is normal; it is a disease like other diseases that hit animals. The Iraqi Agriculture Ministry is adopting a scientific plan to deal with it," Jassim told IRIN without elaborating. He blamed the cattle owners for not sending their cattle for routine tests and vaccinations.
sm/ar/ed
This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions
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