Zainab al Nassri -
Muscat, July 4 -
In view of frequent outbreaks of Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) among livestock in the Sultanate, the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries has developed a strategy to control the animal epidemic.
The plan has been devised in cooperation with the Agriculture and Fisheries Development Fund.
As Oman has a large number of livestock, including cows, sheep, camels and horses besides wild animals in natural reserves, the ministry sees it necessary to protect them from viral, bacterial and parasitic diseases that can prove fatal.
FMD, however, is a severe, highly contagious disease that can have a significant economic impact.
Although the disease is rarely fatal in adult animals, there is often high mortality in young animals.
FMD is characterised by fever and blister-like sores on the tongue and lips, mouth, teats and between the hooves. The disease causes severe production (milk) loss. While a majority of the affected animals recover, it often leaves them weakened and debilitated.
The ministry makes efforts to limit the disease from spreading among animals by providing state-of-the-art diagnostic tools to detect the disease in coordination with experts in livestock research centres, departments and veterinary clinics all over the country.
Dr Mohammed Hussain, an expert in viral diseases, said the project collected 7,345 samples of serum from different animals.
“The project helped in studying the virus, creating data base as well as identifying the disease facts and finding ways to control it,” he said.
The project also included the establishment of a serum bank, which is expected to be a source of information for future studies on livestock.
The bank contains 24,000 samples of serum collected from animals from different parts around the country.
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