Foot-and-mouth disease outbreak hits Nimule and Unity, says FAO

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There is an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease in Nimule and parts of the former Unity State, UN Food and Agriculture Organization announced.
 
Foot-and-mouth disease is a severe contagious animal disease that causes high fever and swellings inside the mouth and feet and can cause lameness if it cracks.
 
FAO Country representative Serge Tissot during the launch of Foot-and-Mouth Disease Progressive Control Pathway project said the agency is still planning to vaccinate and treat six million animals this year.
 
He said the agency and the Ministry of Livestock launched a two-year project to control spread of the disease.
 
The initiative will involve surveillance, data collection and analysis of foot and mouth outbreak in rural and border areas, he added.
 
FAO also donated laboratory equipment worth 19 thousand US Dollars to help the National Ministry of Livestock set up a laboratory for testing samples from suspected foot-and-mouth disease cases.
 
The agency has trained 1000 community health workers this year and would raise awareness on foot-and-mouth disease to affected areas, he added.
 
The Minister of Livestock, James Janka, said policies to control animal disease outbreaks will be set soon.