Mozambique: ETG to stop export of seized pigeon peas
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Almost five thousand cattle in the northern province of Nampula were vaccinated against foot and mouth disease in July.
The veterinarian authorities vaccinated 4,793 cattle against the disease which is prevalent in five of the province’s 23 districts: Angoche, Larde, Moma, Mogovolas, and Murrupula.
The head of the livestock department in the Provincial Directorate of Agriculture and Food Security, Deuladeu de Azevedo, told AIM that the campaign aims to vaccinate over 50,000 animals against foot and mouth. She explained that this will cover 14,545 animals in Angoche; 21,414 in Mogovolas; 7,923 in Moma; 1,282 in Larde; and 5,352 in Murrupula. Deuladeu de Azevedo noted that this represents around half of the province’s cattle. In addition, the province has 49 plunge tanks for dipping livestock and 50 veterinarian pharmacies.
The Veterinary Directorate is also on the ground vaccinating dogs and cats against rabies.
Vaccination campaigns against food and mouth disease are underway in seven provinces, targeting over 391,000 cattle. The other provinces affected are Gaza, Inhambane, Manica, Sofala, Tete, and Zambezia.
National action to tackle the epidemic is coordinated by an emergency committee which has established safety corridors to halt the spread of the disease. Amongst the measures taken are restrictions on the movement and transfer of animals, meat and fodder along certain roads, and the use of disinfectant for feet and wheels at key points.
In addition, there is a total ban on moving cattle, goats, sheep and pigs to and from much of the three most affected provinces: Tete, Nampula, and Gaza. Meat products from animals in these areas cannot be moved. In addition, inspecting animals, particularly their mouth cavity, is required on a weekly or fortnightly basis (depending on the districts) and the results reported to the National Veterinary Directorate (DINAV).
With any animals authorised for transfer from the other districts in the country, they must receive a clinical inspection before they are moved and must be individually identified. Animals being transferred to different destinations must not be moved in the same vehicle, and vehicles carrying livestock must be sealed. When the animals are unloaded, they must be inspected by the veterinary authorities.
Foot and mouth is a highly infectious virus that causes mouth sores, particularly on the tongue, and in lesions in the interdigital spaces in cattle, goats, sheep, and pigs.
Although foot and mouth disease is rarely fatal to adult animals, those infected are often killed to halt the spread of the disease, since it permanently reduces milk production, and restricts the growth of animals (and hence the meat they can produce).
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