Foot-and-mouth disease deepens the losses of Libyans before Ramadan

Cairo: «Middle East»
A number of Libyans across the country are complaining about the spread of foot-and-mouth disease among their herds, while the two governments competing for power are rushing to combat it with precautionary measures, amid fears of an increase in the epidemiological situation, especially with the advent of the month of Ramadan.

The head of the management committee of the National Center for Animal Health, Dr. Abdul Rahman Ajbil, spoke to local media about the spread of the disease in 47 hotspots across Libya, including the Zliten region on the west coast, and the Green Mountain in the east of the country.

While Ajbil pointed out the death of nearly a thousand heads of cows and sheep, he said, “There is a fear that the real numbers of infections will be greater than what was announced.”

Amid the movement of the two governments, the security services are increasing the closure of livestock markets and preventing the transportation of shipments that transport them between different cities to limit the spread of the disease, which inflicts heavy losses on breeders.

The Central Committee, headed by the Deputy Prime Minister of the “Unity” Government and Minister of Agriculture and Livestock, Hussein Al-Qatrani, held a meeting to discuss proposals to limit the disease, and concluded with the necessity of providing the required supplies to combat the disease, and strengthening the role of information and guidance.

Over the past two weeks, many livestock markets have been closed in Libya, including Qasr Ben Ghashir, Tarhuna, Zliten, and Ajdabiya, with the intention of reducing the spread of “foot-and-mouth disease,” amid the Animal Health Center’s warning of an outbreak of “lumpy skin” and “foot-and-mouth disease.”

Osama Hammad, head of the Libyan government loyal to the House of Representatives in the east of the country, assigned the regulatory and health authorities and municipalities to follow up on the crisis “urgently” and take the necessary measures to prevent the spread of the disease. In a statement yesterday (Monday), the government noted the receipt of reports regarding the epidemiological situation, indicating its spread among livestock in a number of Libyan cities, and the danger it poses to humans and livestock.

The measures taken by the government include providing financial allocations to purchase vaccines and serums to confront the epidemic, and assigning public service companies to destroy dead animals suspected of being infected with the disease.

The government also indicated that it assigned the Environmental Sanitation Department to spray the necessary pesticides in livestock markets and the surrounding areas, with the aim of eliminating the insects that carry it, and identified specific slaughterhouses in each city to organize slaughter operations, under the supervision of specialized doctors from the Animal Health Department.

The government also directed the Municipal Guard to launch intensive campaigns on livestock markets and meat shops, and to prevent the movement of livestock between cities permanently, in addition to coordinating with local media and social media platforms to educate citizens about the seriousness of the epidemic, and request reporting of any suspicious cases that are observed, with It is necessary to inform the Prime Minister of a daily report on the epidemiological situation and the measures taken regarding it.

The Agricultural Police Service in Libya said today (Tuesday) that its branches in the regions of the country receive reports of the presence of dead cows, the latest of which was on a farm in the Al-Fattayah area in Derna (northeast), indicating that members of the agency went to the reported location, and legal measures were taken. All regarding the incident, noting that since the beginning of the crisis, the agricultural police branches have been conducting the process of sterilizing the markets of the past and the infected hotspots as precautionary measures.

In Tobruk, in the east of the country, citizens expected that the emergence of this disease would lead to a decrease in the prices of livestock and sheep, with increased sales for fear of infection, but they say that this did not happen.

Muhammad Hassan said: “As for the prices of sheep, they are beyond the reach of ordinary people. Insanely high prices. I bought a sheep from the market that was not worth the 1,400 dinars I paid for it. We heard about foot-and-mouth disease, although it is not in Tobruk. We hope for our people in the Green Mountain region that God will protect them from it.” (The dollar is equal to 4.84 dinars in the official market).

Hassan added: “We expected livestock prices to fall due to fear of infection, but prices are increasing, especially with the approaching month of Ramadan, and merchants say that the reason is the lack of fodder. Prices are increasing insanely.”

However, Mustafa Al-Zakir, the media official at the Municipal Guard Directorate in Tobruk, believes that “foot-and-mouth disease causes damage to small livestock’s growth and affects their price, but large livestock are not affected by it.” At a time when the agricultural police announced the death of several cows due to this disease.