Maputo, 20 Oct (AIM) – The Mozambican livestock authorities are preparing the second phase of vaccination of cattle against foot-and-mouth disease, in the central provinces of Tete and Manica, as well as in the northern province of Niassa, as part of actions to control the disease.
To this end, the National Directorate for Livestock Development (DNDP), in the Ministry of Agriculture, has allocated 350,000 doses of the immunizer to be administered in the near future to animals in areas at high risk of outbreaks of this transnational disease.
According to Zacarias Massicame, head of the Disease Prevention and Control Department at the Ministry of Agriculture, the second stage is aimed at guaranteeing the protection of cattle and safeguarding public health.
“The first vaccination campaign ended at the end of August for anthrax. Now we are preparing the second phase, but only for foot-and-mouth disease in the province of Tete and parts of Niassa and Manica”, he said.
He noted that 450,000 doses of foot-and-mouth disease inoculants had been purchased this year, especially to control the outbreak in some districts of Tete.
“We haven’t had any new cases since the beginning of the year. But whenever we have outbreaks, the control period is two years, in which we must administer four consecutive doses in the priority areas, to suppress the circulation of the virus”, Massicame said.
He revealed that there have been outbreaks in the districts of Doa and Moatize, which have led the authorities to impose restrictions on the movement of cattle, goats and pigs out of the province.
He reiterated that the sector continues to regularly monitor the evolution of foot-and-mouth disease in this and other regions of the country and, in due course, may propose lifting the control measures in force.
(AIM)
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