38 incidences of foot and mouth disease detected so far

A total of 38 incidences of foot and mouth disease have been detected since the start of the outbreak of the disease in Larnaca last month, veterinary services department spokeswoman Sotiria Georgiadou said on Wednesday.

In this context, an “incidence” is considered to be one farm, given that upon the detection of one positive case at a farming unit, every animal on the unit must be slaughtered. Thus far, around 13,500 animals have been culled as a direct result of the outbreak.

“The cases we have had so far are within the infected zone in the Larnaca district. We examined other samples from other districts, and even from elsewhere in Larnaca, around and inside the 10-kilometre exclusion radius, and we did not find anything,” Georgiadou told the Cyprus News Agency.

Nonetheless, she said, tests are ongoing, with the culling of cattle also continuing.

Meanwhile, the agriculture ministry confirmed that a total of 88,650 doses of the vaccine for cattle and 238,400 doses of the vaccine for sheep and goats have been provided to private veterinarians so far.

It also called for the public and livestock farmers to “strictly” adhere to restrictive measures, including bans on the movement of animals and animal feed and restrictions on the movement of people within the exclusion zone.