AMMAN — A specialized team from the
World Organization for Animal Health, led by the regional director of the
organization and accredited Italian experts, has arrived in Jordan to
investigate the local foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) outbreak.
اضافة اعلان
The Ministry of Agriculture
announced that the team has begun working to determine the source of the virus
by visiting affected farms. The ministry will publish the team's results
gradually as they become available.
Cattle vaccination ongoingThe ministry said that it received
62,700 doses of the FMD vaccine from a manufacturer in Britain and has
vaccinated 52,625 head of cattle. An additional 13,570 doses have been
distributed to agriculture directorates in the governorates according to cattle
numbers.
As of yesterday evening, 334 cows
and 426 calves had died due to the virus, according to the ministry's
electronic reporting system. However, President of Al-Dhuleil Dairy Cattle
Association Ali Ghabayen has said that the number of cow deaths had risen to
about 1,100 due to the disease.
The ministry expects to finish
vaccinating all cattle farms by the end of the week and start easing measures
related to preventing animal movement between zones and gradually opening
livestock markets, starting with areas far from the infection.
The ministry said that it received 62,700 doses of the FMD vaccine from a manufacturer in Britain and has vaccinated 52,625 head of cattle.
Minister of Agriculture Khaled
Hneifat said during a meeting with the Agriculture, Water, and Badia Committee of
the Lower House that the foot-and-mouth vaccine was effective for cows,
stressing that sheep and goats were not affected by the virus.
Ministry aims to ease measuresMinistry of Agriculture spokesman
Lawrence Majali said in a press statement that "the outbreak of
foot-and-mouth disease in Jordan is expected to end this weekend or early next
week", stressing that there are "no foot-and-mouth fever infections among
sheep as of Tuesday".
The ministry has set up a committee
in partnership with cow breeders' associations to account for damage to the
sector.
"The outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease in Jordan is expected to end this weekend or early next week"
The committee will complete its work
within 10 days and submit a report to the Cabinet regarding compensating
farmers.
The Veterinarians Association Deputy
Head Ghadanfar Abu Zaid said that the tripartite committee formed by the
Ministry of Agriculture, the Veterinarian Association, and academics from the
University of Jordan to discuss the disease has not yet met.
Losses sufferedThe spokesman of the Veterinarian
Association, Abdullah Shehadeh, held the government, represented by the
Ministry of Agriculture, responsible for the entrance of the new strain of FMD
into Jordan.
Shehadeh said that farmers have
suffered significant losses despite not bearing responsibility, and they are
now suffering from the mistakes of the Ministry of Agriculture as it is
responsible for quarantines and border crossings. He added that the ministry's
measures were not adequate and that it did not take preventive measures.
"Farmers hold no responsibility in bearing the losses. Official agencies must admit the error because the breeders did everything necessary to protect farms."
Shehadeh pointed out that the losses
suffered by livestock breeders are estimated at tens of millions of dollars,
stressing that "the situation is not as easy as official actors are trying
to portray”.
“The epidemic is rampant, there is a
transmission of the epidemic in the north and it is no longer confined to
certain areas".
"Farmers hold no responsibility
in bearing the losses. Official agencies must admit the error because the
breeders did everything necessary to protect farms."
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