New cases of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) have been detected in eleven livestock units in Livadia and Oroklini, in the Larnaka district, Soteria Georgiadou, Senior Veterinary Officer, said on Sunday, adding that the total number of infected livestock units reaches 22.
Initially, she said, the animals that had been identified as infected were 13,000 and now the new cases are 2,000 in Livadia and about 200 in three small livestock units in Oroklini.
“Depending on the births of the animals, we may reach 16,000 infected animals,” she said.
Regarding vaccinations, she noted that 529,000 doses of vaccines arrived on Saturday from France to Cyprus and that distribution of vaccines to private veterinarians began last night.
In statements at the “Zenon” Coordination Center in Larnaka, Georgiadou said that all affected units are within the infected zone, something which she described as “promising”.
“We will continue with the culling, sampling and vaccinations” she added.
Georgiadou recalled that since the detection of the first case in the government controlled areas, coordinated actions have been taken, adding that every day more than 513 people, together with the Minister of Agriculture, are at the Coordination Center and other control points in order to contain the FMD in the infected area.
It is very important, she concluded, “for every livestock farmer to protect his property and to observe all biosecurity measures”.