A contagious disease has been detected in cows in southern Lebanon, the National News Agency reported on Thursday.
The Agricultural Services Center of the Union of Bint Jbeil Municipalities, in coordination with dairy farmers in South Lebanon, launched an immunization campaign after several cases of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) were detected among cows.
The Center also issued the following guidelines for dairy farmers, in order to prevent the disease from spreading further and to protect the livestock:
- Maintaining cleanliness in, and the periodic sterilization of, farms.
- Isolating the infected animals.
- Ensuring, before purchasing a cow, that it is free from infectious diseases.
FMD is a highly contagious animal disease that can cause an immense loss of livestock. As such, it is considered one of the most dangerous livestock diseases.
Numerous countries, including the United Kingdom, Taiwan, Japan, and South Korea have suffered from dangerous FMD outbreaks. In 2001, the UK sustained more than 8 billion pounds (around $11 million) of loss due to an FMD outbreak.
The viral disease spreads rapidly between animals through their breath, saliva, mucus, milk, and feces, in addition to various other means.
