Morocco: Mass Vaccination Against Cattle Plague
MOROCCO - Morocco Wednesday announced a widespread vaccination of the sheep and goat livestock (about 22 millions heads) to eradicate the cattle plague which has been decimating the country’s small livestock since July with 4,463 animals contaminated while 2,130 among them died.
12 September 2008
1 minute read
According to the Moroccan Agriculture ministry which has set up an ad hoc follow-up unit, the widespread vaccination will first target the high-risk zones.
In consultation with the experts of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), the country’s relevant authorities have taken emergency measures such as vaccinating sheep and goat breeding stocks and quarantining 178 livestock farms affected in several regions, reports the African Press Agency.
According to the Moroccan Agriculture ministry, 400,000 heads of sheep and goats were vaccinated to date.
The progress of the epidemics is "slow and controlled, without any economic impact on the national livestock," the ministry affirmed.
The decision to extend the vaccination follows the release by FAO of a "very appalling" report on the disease which threatens to spill out in the neighbouring countries.
TheCattleSite News Desk
