Foot-and-mouth disease breaks out in eastern Mongolia
ULAN BATOR – An outbreak of highly infectious foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) in Sukhbaatar province in eastern Mongolia has been confirmed by the Mongolian State Central Veterinary Laboratory, local media reported.
Currently, 86 head of cattle of 15 herder families were infected with FMD and 82 of them were culled. Symptoms of FMD were observed in three sites, head of the district’s veterinary department said.
Despite the efforts of the national emergency management authority and the provincial administration to contain the outbreak of FMD, the disease continues to spread in the country.
Mongolian officials are conducting testing and vaccination of livestock in nearby counties. Disinfection stations were set up on key traffic routes in the district.
All traffic to Sukhbaatar province has been blocked and only vaccinated students going to the capital city for studies are permitted to leave the province.
This was not the first outbreak of FMD in Sukhbaatar. Despite vaccination measures, the disease breaks out in the province every year.
Source: Xinhua
Published: 04 Feb 2014
