Mozambique: Agriculture Ministry warns of spread of foot-and-mouth disease

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Mozambique: Agriculture Ministry warns of spread of foot-and-mouth disease

6:55 CAT | 21 Aug 2018

File photo: Notícias

The Mozambican Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security warned on Tuesday of the spread of foot-and-mouth disease in the country, adding that measures proposed by the Government are being neglected.

“The factors that accelerated the spread of foot-and-mouth disease are illegal movement and untimely notification to veterinary authorities,” Américo da Conceição, the national director of veterinary medicine, was quoted as saying.

Until the end of July, the disease was present in some districts of Nampula, Tete, Gaza and Maputo province. It has now been notified in the districts of Panda in Inhambane province, Guro and Sussundenga in Manica province, Conceição added.

“We have provided protection vaccination along the border in the provinces of Tete, Manica, Gaza and Maputo. We have established foot-and-mouth disease emergency committees in each province that will coordinate surveillance and implementation of the measures required by the disease,” he added.

There is also a disease register in neighbouring countries such as Malawi, Zambia, Botswana and Zimbabwe.

The Mozambican government, in coordination with the authorities of these countries, wants to create a “protective cordon” at the borders.

Mozambique has ordered a ban on the movement of cattle within a 50 kilometre radius of the districts affected by foot-and-mouth disease.

In July, the Mozambican government announced a campaign to vaccinate cattle in areas where the disease was detected, a process that should cover 391,500 cattle in seven provinces of the country, as part of measures for the prevention and control of the outbreak.

Foot-and-mouth disease is a highly contagious disease for ruminants and pig species, caused by seven serotypes of the “Aphtovirus” virus.

Source: Lusa