Published Date: 2023-03-29 04:23:57 BST
Subject: PRO/AH/EDR> Foot & mouth disease - Turkiye (05): (Thrace) livestock, st SAT-2, vaccination
Archive Number: 20230329.8709203
FOOT & MOUTH DISEASE - TURKIYE (05): (THRACE) LIVESTOCK, SEROTYPE SAT-2, VACCINATION
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Date: Mon 27 Mar 2023
Source: Cerkezkoy Bakis [in Turkish, machine trans., abridged, edited]
https://cerkezkoybakis.com.tr/saptan-13-yildir-ari-trakyaya-hastaligin-gelmemesi-icin-yogun-caba-sarf-ediliyor
Vaccination is being carried out in Thrace by teams to protect nearly 800 000 sheep and cattle from the SAT-2 serotype of foot-and-mouth disease, known as FMD.
Vaccines sent to the region by the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry every year are administered to animals by veterinarians.
Manufacturers also support the intensive work of the teams. Producers are trying to take precautions by pouring lime in front of animal pens.
Kirklareli [province] director of Agriculture and Forestry Mehmet Aksoy told Anadolu Agency (AA) that there is no problem with FMD in Thrace.
Stating that Thrace has been free from FMD for 13 years, Aksoy said that vaccination studies have been carried out regularly, and that the studies initiated to vaccinate approximately 500 000 animals in Kirklareli are nearing the end.
Explaining that all measures were taken against the disease, Aksoy continued as follows:
"Our citizens and breeders should be comfortable in this regard. The entrance of live animals to our region is already closed. We keep our measures at the highest level in this regard. Our veterinarians continue to work day and night to vaccinate the animals in our region."
[AG], who has been a livestock breeder in Kizilcikdere village for nearly 20 years, also stated that everyone is making great efforts to prevent "alum" [Turkish for FMD] from coming to the region.
Explaining that the Agriculture and Forestry Directorate teams vaccinated their animals against the disease, [AG] said that they tried to take precautions by washing their shoes or boots with lime and bleach when entering the corral.
Edirne [province] Agriculture and Forestry Director Atilla Bayazit stated that 156 000 cattle were included in the vaccination program.
Stating that they are working to vaccinate the animals the earliest, Bayazit said, "Cows in advanced pregnancy and newborn calves are not vaccinated. We shall follow them, getting the cows vaccinated after delivery and the calves when up to the required size, so that all animals in the province get vaccinated before the end of the vaccination operation."
Tekirdag Agriculture and Forestry Director Oktay Ocal stated that there are enough vaccines to combat FMD and that the vaccination project will be completed quickly.
Ocal stated that 147 000 cattle will be vaccinated in the city.
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ProMED
[Thrace is the ancient name of the European part of modern Turkiye, in the Marmara region. The 3 Turkish provinces named in the above report, Tekirdag, Edirne, and Kırklareli, comprise Thrace, together with the part of Istanbul on the western side of the Bosporus strait (an interactive map of Turkiye provinces is available at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Provinces_of_Turkey).
In 1962, FMD virus of the exotic, African serotype SAT1 made its way from the Horn of Africa through the Middle East to Turkiye, threatening the neighboring Balkan countries and Europe at large (see map at https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0147957102000334-gr1.jpg). The European Commission for Control of Foot-and-Mouth Disease (EuFMD), established in 1954, undertook the burden of supporting Turkiye in turning Thrace into an FMD-vaccinated buffer zone. Selecting Thrace was based upon its strategic geographic situation and favorable physical conditions for concentrated efforts in a relatively small and easily defensible area. This EuFMD project has been maintained and fortified since, undergoing several additional FMD attacks such as the ones caused by A22, Asia1, A Iran 96 (indicated in the mentioned map), and others. Throughout the years, the project intensified its activities, such as developing technical infrastructures, including vaccine production units that allowed a shift of the buffer zone system to eastern Anatolia, and currently engaged in the production of the SAT2 vaccine for wide-scale vaccinations in the buffer zone and beyond.
In the meantime, the current epizootic has spread further, lately reported from the province of Eskişehir, situated in northwestern Turkiye (see media report at https://www.sakaryagazetesi.com.tr/eskisehirde-sap-hastaligi-alarmi, in Turkish).
A follow-up report from Turkiye is due, expected to provide an updated map. - Mod.AS
ProMED map:
Thrace, Turkey: https://promedmail.org/promed-post?place=8709203,18232]