February 6, 2023

Livestock farms in Jordan shut down following discovery of new FMD strain

Jordan announced on February 5 the closure of all livestock barns in the country for 14 days after detecting a new strain of the foot-and-mouth disease (FMD), the state-run Al Mamlaka TV reported.

Jordan's Ministry of Agriculture also decided to temporarily suspend imports of rough fodder from Iraq after the spread of the disease, according to Al Mamlaka. The ministry said most registered cases of FMD in the Al Dhuleil area to the north of Zarqa governorate were infections of a new strain of the disease.

The ministry said it took several precautionary measures and contacted the ministries and local administration to move ahead with veterinary quarantine, sanitisation and immunisation.

The ministry also launched a campaign to immunise livestock and establish veterinary hospitals.

Ali Ghabayen, president of the Al Dhuleil Dairy Cattle Association, said 90% of cows and calves on farms in the Al Dhuleil area are infected with the new strain of FMD, and 150 cows and calves have died of FMD in Al Dhuleil.

The ministry added that it is contacting companies that produce veterinary vaccines against the new strain.

In a statement, Laith Al Hajj, head of the Cow Breeders Society, said the losses of the new strain have so far reached around د.ا25 million (US$35.24 million).

- Xinhua