[This page contains animal and plant disease outbreaks that might have some relation to human health issues. For specific diseases, please see the pages referenced below.]

OIE – Animal Health 2007-2008
30 May 2008
OIE press release [edited] [News source provided by Promed]
Approximately 600 participants representing the 172 OIE Member Countries and Territories, intergovernmental (FAO, WHO, World Bank, WTO etc.), regional and national organisations took part in the 76 th Annual General Session of the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE), 25-30 May 2008.
Official OIE sanitary status recognition of Members
The International Committee approved the 2008 list of countries or zones that had applied for an official OIE recognition of their sanitary status concerning one or several of 4 priority diseases: bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), foot and mouth disease (FMD), contagious bovine pleuropneumonia (CBPP) and rinderpest.This year [2008] the OIE recognized a record number of sanitary statuses on BSE. Following the recognition of 30 Members this week, the OIE now recognizes 41 Members as having a "controlled risk" or a "negligible risk" status. The OIE is the sole world organisation to grant an official status on freedom from specified animal diseases including BSE. A total of 5 Members or zones of Members were newly recognized as free of FMD with or without vaccination. [The full list, updated 26 May 2008, is available at < http://oie.int/eng/info/en_fmd.htm >].The OIE granted 13 new national free statuses on rinderpest. The organisation reiterated the objective, shared with the FAO, to declare the world free of rinderpest in the short term.
More commitment from OIE Reference Laboratories and Members to the OFFLU network
Delegates adopted a resolution requiring Members reporting outbreaks of highly pathogenic avian influenza to rapidly share biological material and data with the international scientific community. Members are encouraged to use the OIE/FAO OFFLU network as a way of generating and disseminating this information, thus allowing the early preparation of human vaccines. [For the OFFLU website, see < http://www.offlu.net/ >].The Session further insisted that it is mandatory for all OIE Reference Laboratories to gather, process, analyse and disseminate epidemiological data concerning the disease they are responsible for.
Global animal disease notification
The worldwide zoosanitary situation, covering around 100 terrestrial and aquatic animal diseases, was examined in detail. The Session highlighted that notification of disease outbreaks from Members has dramatically improved since the launch of the new online system WAHIS in 2006. To the benefit of the world epidemiological situation, Members assimilated the system and it meets all expectations regarding the swiftness, number and quality of notification reports.The WAHID database now captures all the information provided by WAHIS and makes it accessible to anyone worldwide.
Additions to the Terrestrial and Aquatic Animal Health Codes
Consistent with the framework of its usual standard-setting activities, the Committee updated and adopted new international standards, aimed at providing better safeguards for the sanitary safety of world trade, as well as guidelines to better implement surveillance of animal diseases and zoonoses worldwide.Significant standards were also adopted in the field of animal welfare, including a new scientific definition of animal welfare and new guidelines for aquatic animals.

Mayotte – Rift Valley fever in bovine
22 May 2008
OIE, WAHID (World Animal Health Information Database), weekly disease information 2008; 21(20) [edited] [News source provided by Promed]
Report type : immediate notification
Start date : 4 Mar 2008
Date of 1st confirmation of the event: 4 Mar 2008
Report date: 14 May 2008
Reason for notification: 1st occurrence of a listed disease
Date of previous occurrence : none
Causal agent: Rift Valley fever virus
Nature of diagnosis : laboratory (advanced)
This event pertains to a defined zone within the country
Summary of outbreaks
Outbreak 1 : M'Tsangamouji, Ile de Mayotte (France)
Date of start of the outbreak: 4 Mar 2008
Outbreak status : continuing (or date resolved not provided)
Epidemiological unit : farm
Affected animals
Species : cattle
Susceptible: 67
Cases: 12
Deaths : 0
Destroyed: 0
Slaughtered : 0
Affected population : adult zebus raised in an enclosure in a communal farm.
Species : cattle
Epidemiology
Source of the outbreak(s) or origin of infection : illegal movement of animals
Epidemiological comments : diagnostic tests were performed on serum collected in November 2007. The frequent imports of live cattle to Comoros from Madagascar and Tanzania (since 2002) led to consider the risk of introduction of the disease in Mayotte by illegal imports of live cattle from Anjouan (antibodies against Rift Valley fever virus were also detected on goats).
The detection of IgM in 3 zebus suggests a viral circulation in October 2007. A wider seroepidemiological investigation conducted in collaboration with the CIRAD (French Agricultural Research Centre for International Development) is underway to determine the geographic distribution of the infection throughout the whole territory of Mayotte.

Bosnia – Brucellosis
22 May 2008
FluTrackers.com, Agence France-Presse (AFP) report [edited] [News source provided by Promed]
An alarming rise in cases of Bosnians infected with the rare animal disease brucellosis requires urgent action to prevent it from spreading, an epidemiologist warned Thursday (22 May 2008). At least another 1000 people in the Muslim-Croat Federation had been infected by brucellosis but were not registered since they were yet to see a doctor, the epidemiologist estimated. He said also that the situation is identical in the Republika Srpska, the Serb entity.According to this story, a precise figure on those currently infected with the animal disease is unknown.

African swine fever in the Caucasus
22 May 2008
FAO, EMPRES Watch, April 2008 [abridged, edited] [News source provided by Promed]
GEORGIA
Although ASF was not reported to the OIE until 5 Jun 2007, the first clinical cases were seen before May 2007 in the area surrounding the port of Poti, on the eastern shore of the Black Sea. Afterwards, the disease spread eastwards and north following the main transportation routes. This was the first official report of ASF occurrence in the Caucasus region. Sequence analysis of the Georgian ASF virus isolate revealed a close relationship to virus strains from Southeast Africa (Mozambique, Madagascar and Zambia).Early detection was based mainly on clinical findings, and only a small proportion of these outbreaks were confirmed by laboratory investigations. Delayed recognition and response to the new disease appears to have allowed infection to become widespread. By the second week of June 2007, 52 out of 65 districts were suspected to be affected, more than 30,000 pigs had died, and a total of 3900 pigs had been culled. However, it was reported that only clinically ill animals within an infected herd had been culled, which may have contributed to ASF persisting and becoming endemic in the country. Most pigs affected were on open grazed fields or in free range systems. During January 2008, active infection was reported from three regions.
ARMENIA
Armenia 1st reported ASF on 6 Aug 2007 in the northern districts bordering Georgia. The source of the ASF virus entry into Armenia was probably the ASF epidemic in Georgia. By 25 Nov 2007, the number of suspected ASF cases in the 2 northern districts of Armenia had risen to 41. In total, around 3600 pigs died of ASF, and 4300 were culled. During November 2007, new outbreaks occurred in Yerevan and Ararat districts. During January [2008], no outbreaks were reported, but one case was diagnosed in February 2008.
RUSSIAN FEDERATION
On 4 Dec 2007, the Russia Federation reported to the OIE its 1st ASF outbreak since the 1970s. The report stated that 5 wild boar in the Republic of Chechnya, bordering Georgia, were positive.Although the precise method of introduction into the country is unknown, it is likely to have been related to the outbreaks in neighbouring Georgia. If wild boar become infected, the virus could potentially become endemic in the region, as occurred on the Iberian Peninsula and occurs in Sardinia today. So far, the competency of possible Ornithodoros tick vectors in the affected regions is unknown.
AZERBAIJAN
ASF was officially confirmed in Azerbaijan on 28 Jan 2008 in the village of Nic, Gabala District (northwest of the country, about 180 km east of the Georgian border). The pigs were typically kept in backyard holdings and temporarily left outside during the day on pasture/communal land. In Azerbaijan, pigs are kept mainly for family consumption or small-scale local trade.Nagorno-Karabakh has been experiencing ASF outbreaks since November 2007.
Main challenges in the area and the risk for the region
The spread of ASF within the region was facilitated by late detection of the disease and limited ability of the veterinary services to control swine movement or marketing practices. As a result, the chance of ASF becoming endemic is high. Even with a late aggressive response, finding all free-ranging pigs and eliminating the disease in this population will be difficult. If not contained, ASF could easily spread to other countries in the region and would have a protracted direct effect on the productivity of the livestock industry, and indirectly on the food supply, and thus, food security.Infection in the wild boar population would complicate short and long-term control. In addition to the above difficulties, potential vectors ( Ornithodoros ticks) may be present in the Caucasus region.

Portugal – Scrapie
22 May 2008
OIE, WAHID (World Animal Health Information Database), weekly disease information 2008; 21(22) [edited] [News source provided by Promed]
Report type: immediate notification (final report)
Start date : 24 Jan 2008
Date of 1st confirmation of the event : 29 Feb 2008
Date event resolved : 13 Mar 2008
Reason for notification : reoccurrence of a listed disease
Date of previous occurrence : 2004
Causal agent : prion
Nature of diagnosis : laboratory (basic), laboratory (advanced) This event pertains to the whole country
Outbreak 1 (01/2008): Valbom, Pinhel, Guarda, Guarda
Date of start of the outbreak: 24 Jan 2008
Outbreak status : resolved (13 Mar 2008)
Epidemiological unit : farm
Affected animals : dairy sheep crossed with Assaf
Species : sheep
Susceptible: 273
Cases : 7
Destroyed : 273
Species: sheep
Control measures
Measures applied: stamping out, quarantine, movement control inside the country, screening, disinfection of infected premises/establishment(s). No vaccination, no treatment of affected animals
Source of the outbreak(s) or origin of infection: unknown or inconclusive
Epidemiological comments: the outbreak was fully resolved in March 2008. Measures taken to bring outbreak under control included quarantine, controlling the movement of sheep inside the country, active screening and disinfection of the infected premises however no vaccinations were administered nor treatment of infected animals. Proper surveillance and tracking of this disease in Portugal may be appropriate to enable a fast response and possibility to quickly locate source if outbreak should occur again.

Russia – Brucellosis in ovine and caprine - Quarantine imposed (Altai krai)
14 May 2008
IA Regnum [translated by Corr.ATS, edited] [News source provided by Promed]
According to this story, a total of 116 sheep and 12 goats have been identified as infected by brucellosis in the village Kuchuk of Altai krai. The cases have been confirmed by laboratory tests. Currently, the sick animals are isolated. All the yards are equipped with disinfection entry areas and the population is informed about the restrictions due to brucellosis. Local veterinarians are working in the village.

Australia – Melioidosis in goats - Northern Territory
13 May 2008
ABC Rural [edited]
According to this story, hundreds of feral and domestic goats have been dying from disease on breeding blocks near Katherine in the Northern Territory. The harsh weather conditions and the recent transport of more goats to the region are believed to be causing the common diseases.

Kuwait – Tuberculosis, Bovine
11 May 2008
Arab Times, Kuwait [edited]
According to the chairman of the Cooperative Societies Union (CSU), results of tests conducted on local dairy products were negative for bovine tuberculosis. It is reported that the chairman confirmed that the Public Authority for Agricultural Affairs and Fish Resources (PAAAFR) took the necessary precautionary measures immediately after receiving reports that some cows at the cattle farms in Sulaibiya are infected with the disease. According to this story, on the other hand, the chairman of the Union of Fresh Dairy Products revealed the PAAAFR has agreed to slaughter 1300 cows in Sulaibiya, which were found infected with the disease. It is also reported that meanwhile, the chairman of the Board of Directors of Ardiya Cooperative Society said the co-op and its branches removed locally-produced fresh milk and its byproducts from their shelves to ensure the safety of consumers.

Kenya Under Fresh Threat From Rift Valley Fever
7 May 2008
Business Daily (Nairobi) via AllAfrica - East Africa [edited]
According to this story, experts are warning that the Rift Valley Fever (RVF) may hit Kenya again and other neighbouring countries.It is reported that the new warning follows an acute outbreak of the viral disease on the Island of Madagascar, off the coastline of East Africa and that the situation in Madagascar poses a direct threat to neighbouring nations such as Kenya, especially because surrounding regions in Central Africa are anticipated to witness an increase in precipitation above normal rains in the next few months -- a condition that suits the spread of the disease.

Viet Nam reports additional provinces hit by pig disease
22 Apr 2008
China View, Xinhua News Agency report [edited]
Porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome (PRRS), known as "blue ear" disease, has recently stricken 2 more Vietnamese provinces, raising the total number of affected localities [provinces] to 10, local newspaper Pioneer reported Tuesday [22 Apr 2008].Specimens from ill pigs in Yen Mo in the northern province of Ninh Binh and Y Yen of Nam Dinh province tested positive to PRRS virus, the paper quoted the country's Department of Animal Health as reporting.Now, PRRS is hitting the provinces of Thanh Hoa, Thai Binh, Thai Nguyen, Nam Dinh, and Ninh Binh in the northern region, and Ha Tinh, Quang Nam, Nghe An, Lam Dong, and Thua Thien Hue in the central region, said the department.

Nagorno- Karabakh – African Swine Fever
17 Apr 2008
IA Kavkazskiy Uzel [trans by Promed , edited]
According to this story, the Vice-Premier and Minister of Farming and Agriculture of Nagorno-Karabakh announced that new cases of African swine fever [ASF] have been registered in the Hadrut region of Karabakh. 47 million AMD [Armenian Drams; USD 151 000] have been allocated from the state budget for compensation to the owners of infected swine. Infected animals have been culled earlier this year [2008]. The Minister said that an accurate analysis of the outbreak's dimensions is difficult to perform, since animal owners present inflated losses. This also makes the process of compensation more complicated. The epidemic of ASF caused major losses in Georgia at the end of the last year [2007]. Then, it spread to Armenia, killing large numbers of swine.

Bangladesh – Bacterial Leaf Blight in rice
14 Apr 2008
UN Integrated Regional Information Networks (IRIN) [edited]
Over the past week the retail price of rice has held steady. But in Dhaka long queues continued outside government open market sales centres. Although this month's [April 2008] 'boro' rice harvest, which accounts for some 60 percent of the country's yield, is expected to be a bumper one, severe crop losses as a result of monsoon floods last year [2007], coupled with a devastating cyclone, have helped keep stocks low.Bacterial leaf blight (BLB), a serious rice disease, also poses a threat to stocks, but an agriculture adviser interviewed was optimistic this week, saying 'boro' production would exceed the target this year [2008] thanks in part to proper remedial measures having been taken. His optimism was echoed by researchers and agricultural experts at Bangladesh Agricultural University who said the BLB outbreak in many areas would probably not cause extensive damage to the 'boro' yield. However, Bangladesh's is far from being out of the woods, with government officials predicting the "crisis" likely to last quite some time.

Yemen – Screwworm Myiasis, Animal
13 Apr 2008
FAO AGA NEWS, March 2008 [edited]
Outbreaks of Old World Screwworm (OWS) have been reported in western Yemen, in February 2008, near the border area with Saudi Arabia and across the relative green upland areas of the country. The OWS fly causes myiasis, a disease caused by the fly's larvae feeding on the host's necrotic or living tissue, and which may affect both humans and animals. Within Yemen, the affected areas hosts almost 50 percent of the total animal national stock, estimated at 15 million sheep, 1.4 million cattle and 250 000 camels.The recent events in Yemen are of direct relevance to all the countries in the Arabian Peninsula as there is mounting evidence of a progressive spread of OWS, across the Middle East. Incursions of OWS have been reported in Bahrain in 1977, in Oman in 1983, in the United Arab Emirates in 1988, in Iran in 1994 and in Iraq in 1996. This spread is possibly related to a combination of factors including movements of people and livestock, land use and climatic change.
Related stories
31 Mar 2008 - IRIN, UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs

Hong Kong - Botulism caused wild ducks' death
11 Apr 2008
Hong Kong's Information Services Department [edited]
The Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department has confirmed botulism was the cause of death of 51 wild ducks found in Lok Ma Chau. Carcasses of 8 northern shovelers [_Anas clypeata_] and 43 Eurasian wigeons [_Anas penelope_] were collected at the wetland compensation area of the Mass Transit Railway Lok Ma Chau Spur Line on 25 Mar 2008. These wild ducks are common winter migratory birds found in Hong Kong. They had all tested negative for the H5 virus. Botulism is a disease caused by toxins produced by the bacteria Clostridium botulinum .

Uganda - Nagana Hits Tororo District
8 Apr 2008
New Vision (Kampala) via Allafrica.com [edited]
According to this story, an outbreak of Nagana is threatening food security in Tororo, the district veterinary officer has said. He said the disease, which is spread by tsetse flies and affects cattle, had wiped out livestock in key areas that supply food to the district and affected crop production since farmers use ox-ploughs. Nagana weakens the animals rapidly, causes loss of appetite and makes them develop scarred hides. West Budama county is the most affected. In Paya sub-county, the infection rate is 11.4 percent, Mulanda sub-county 15.5 percent, Nabuyoga sub-county 15.7 percent and Kirewa sub-county with 14.6 percent.The district agricultural officer said the biggest proportion of crops, including maize, millet and beans come from West Budama.

Australia free from equine influenza for 3 months
3 Apr 2008
Australian Chief Veterinary Officer
The last cases of equine influenza (EI) in Australia occurred on 9 Dec 2007 in New South Wales and on 25 Dec 2007 in Queensland. Since that time, Australia has undertaken substantial surveillance to demonstrate the disease is not present and has not identified any further infected cases.

Finland - Enzootic bovine leucosis [EBL]
3 Apr 2008
OIE , World Animal Health Information Database, weekly disease information 2008; 21(14) [edited]
Reason for notification : reoccurrence of a listed disease
Date of previous occurrence : 1996
Causal agent : enzootic bovine leukosis virus
Nature of diagnosis : laboratory (advanced)
This event pertains to the whole country
Outbreak 1: Muhos testing station, Oulu
Date of start of the outbreak : 3 Jan 2008
Outbreak status: continuing (or date resolved not provided)
Epidemiological unit: farm
Affected animals
Species: cattle
Susceptible: 27
Cass : 1
Deaths: 0
Destroyed : 0
Slaughtered: 1
Affected population : a 13 month old bull intended for artificial insemination
Source of the outbreak(s) or origin of infection: unknown or inconclusive
Epidemiological comments: the bull tested positive during the quarantine required for moving from the rearing station to the artificial insemination centre. Before final results were available, the bull was slaughtered [for] other reasons. Consequently, no virus isolation could be carried out afterwards. Other bulls in the same group have tested negative but are still under movement restrictions. Also, the positive bull and the herd of origin tested negative before the bull entered the rearing station in spring 2007. The farm of origin, including the dam of the infected bull and another calf of the dam were tested again in February 2008 with negative results but are still under movement restrictions. The tracing of the origin of the infection continues. Finland officially declared its whole territory free from enzootic bovine leukosis since 1999.
Control measures
- quarantine
- movement control inside the country
- disinfection of infected premises/establishment(s)
- no treatment of affected animals.

Kenya - Outbreak of peste de petits ruminants - 13 million livestock at risk as deadly disease spreads
1 Apr 2008
Daily Nation [edited]
An estimated 13 million sheep and goats in Rift Valley Province are at risk following an outbreak of a viral disease which has killed hundreds of animals. Veterinary officers in the province told the Nation yesterday [31 Mar 2008] that the outbreak of peste de petits ruminants [PPR] was of great concern to them, as the country had no vaccine to contain it. The Ministry of Livestock and Fisheries Development has placed an order for one million doses of vaccines from Ethiopia and Sudan. The provincial director of veterinary services said that the disease was first detected in Oropoi and Lokichoggio divisions of Turkana North District in March 2006. He said that following the outbreak the veterinary department treated 1.4 million sheep and goats in Turkana District, where hundreds of animals had died, after vaccines were procured from outside the country.

Australia - Another NSW cattle tick case
31 Mar 2008
ABC.net Australia [edited]
New South Wales (NSW) cattle producers are being warned to keep a close watch on their stock, after a 2nd case of cattle tick fever was found on the state's north coast. More than 10 heifers have died as a result of the outbreaks. The NSW Department of Primary Industries says this latest case at Alstonville is related to the previous one near Muwillumbah, and likely to be linked to Queensland cattle. Regional animal health leader, Paul Freeman, says surrounding properties have been quarantined, but more outbreaks could occur.

Virus kills Chile's salmon and indicts its fishing methods
27 Mar 2008
The New York Times [edited]
A virus called Infectious Salmon Anemia, or ISA, is killing millions of salmon destined for export to Japan, Europe, and the United States.

New Caledonia – Australia – Tick Fever
21 Mar 2008
Pacific Magazine [edited]
New Caledonia and Australian experts have on Thursday [20 Mar 2008] announced they had agreed on a joint approach that would avoid the mass cull of thousands of cattle after the introduction of a tick fever imported with Australian infected bulls in November last year [2007]. A team of top experts, sent by the Australian government, has been assessing the situation in New Caledonia for the past 5 days. Their main mission was to assist local authorities to contain and possibly treat a contamination from the Australian-introduced tick fever, known as babesiosis. New Caledonia's government had passed emergency regulations that de facto set up exclusion zones for New Caledonia's 17 cattle farms that have been in contact with one or several of the 43 Australia-imported animals. All pastures are also closed to grazing for up to 10 months so that any tick that could be there cannot contaminate more animals. Buffer "protection" and "surveillance" zones also surround the exclusion zones so as to prevent any contamination to neighbouring farms. Furthermore, New Caledonia's quarantine services will remain closed for the next 2 months, which in effect means no animal, whatever its race, can be introduced into the French Pacific territory.
Related sources
12 Mar 2008 - Tick disaster after fresh AQIS bungle -The Australia News
20 Mar 2008 - Plans to eradicate tick disease in New Caledonian cattle
Rural Press National News Service, Parliament House Bureau, Canberra Via: North Queensland Register
31 Mar 2008 - Bovine babesiosis, New Caledonia [Official confirmation of earlier postings]
OIE WAHIDWorld Animal Health Information Database) Disease Information 2008; 21(14)

Australia - Warning on fish disease
20 Mar 2008
ABC network Australia [edited]
New South Wales recreational fishermen heading out for a spot of Easter fishing are being warned to check their catch for signs of Epizootic Ulcerative Syndrome or 'red spot disease.' The fish must not be eaten or thrown back but euthanized, by quickly removing the head and disposing in landfill. The disease strips the slimy layer on the fish, allowing a fungus to develop and red lesions and deep ulcers to appear.

South Africa - African Horse Sickness spreads to 3 provinces
19 Mar 2008
SABCNEWS.COM [edited]
African Horse Sickness [AHS] which has spread to 3 provinces is starting to take a serious toll among the horse population and owners are losing millions. The equine disease has broken out in Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal and the Eastern Cape. An embargo has been placed on movement of horses in the Western Cape, the country's export zone. In the Eastern Cape, a veterinarian explained that more than 180 cases have been reported, while 130 horses have already died. Less than half of the 300,000 horses and other equines in South Africa have been vaccinated.
Related stories
21 Mar 2008 - The Herald Online South Africa [abridged, edited]

Thailand – Tularemia (Prachuap Khiri Khan)
18 Mar 2008
Bangkok Post [edited]
The Public Health Ministry yesterday [17 Mar 2008] declared tularemia an emerging disease in Thailand after its 1st victim was diagnosed in Prachuap Khiri Khan. The disease Control Department director-general was reported as saying a 37 year old woman who suffered from cancer was Thailand's 1 st tularemia, or rabbit fever, fatality. Tularemia is a disease borne by rodents and rabbits, and is endemic in North America and Europe. The director-general also dismissed concerns about an outbreak, saying that there is no threat of human-to-human transmission and that relatives of the dead, who live under the same roof, should not worry. The ministry is waiting for the results of another lab test from the USA to see if the rabbit fever is of strains A or B which are more dangerous. The results are expected in 2 weeks.
Related articles
18 Mar 2008 - Bloomberg

Russia – Brucellosis , Ovine
12 Mar 2008
IA riag.ru , [translated by Mod.NR - Promed, edited]
As previously reported by "IA riag.ru", one of the sheep farms in the Odintsovo district of the Moscow region was found infected with a dangerous disease agent, brucellosis. As explained by the District's veterinary officer, in December 2007, a farmer introduced 100 sheep from the Volgograd region without the prescribed permits and in violation of all veterinary rules. Out of 82 tested animals, 25 were found brucellosis positive. Prior to the established diagnosis, 18 sheep were gone. The owner said that they had been consumed by the family, stating that they were not sold in Moscow. Currently, family members and all neighbors are being examined. The Prosecutor's office has been informed about the case, since the farmer had managed to transport animals across nearly half of Russia without proper documentations, passing through tens of police posts. As the farmer explains, he successfully offered bribes in every road post. After the final analysis, the unaffected sheep will be sent to an abattoir and slaughtered for meat, while the infected sheep sent to a rendering plant.

Yemen - Myiasis affects thousands of animals
2 Mar 2008
UN Integrated Regional Information Networks (IRIN) [edited]
The General Department for Animal Resources (GDAR) at Yemen's Ministry of Agriculture has warned that more than 8000 livestock in 3 of the country's provinces have been affected by myiasis, a disease by which human or animal tissue is infested with fly larvae or maggots.The potentially fatal disease has been found in 838 villages in Saada and Hajjah provinces and at least 5 villages in al-Hudeidah province in northwest Yemen since it first appeared in the country in December 2007, GDAR added. According to Ghaleb al-Eryani, director-general of GDAR, there are 15 million sheep, 1.4 million cattle, and 250 000 camels in Yemen. So far, the number of affected animals has reached 8500. Government sources say that teams have sprayed 120 000 animals and 9000 barns in Saada and Hajjah. In al-Hudeidah Governorate, where the disease has spread to more than 5 villages, officials at Tehama Development Authority (TDA), a government body there, have declared a state of emergency because the province is home to almost half the whole country's livestock.

Ethiopa (South) – Animal disease – Extended dry season
29 Feb 2008
United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs [edited]
The situation in Borena zone with regard to animal health, food security and water for human and animal consumption is deteriorating on a daily basis. The extended dry season follows insufficient rainfall during the hagaya rain (October-December), and conditions have been exacerbated by overstocking of livestock and encroachment of land by farms and bush trees. According to Woreda officials in Arero, limited availability of water for animals is contributing to poor health of livestock and reported cases of livestock diseases, including anthrax, black leg, bloody diarrhea, and FMD. The number of reported livestock deaths is increasing on a daily basis. The Sub-Regional office WFP has registered 4660 livestock deaths since mid-February 2008.

Russia – Rabies (Republic of Alta), cattle
18 Feb 2008
Amic.ru, News Agency, [trans. Corr.ATS- Promed, edited]
According to this story, an emergency situation at the municipality level has been declared in Altai, which has biological and social implications. The press secretary of the Ministry of Emergency Situations of Altai, Svetlana Lyashko, stated that a cattle die-off has occurred in 2 village settlements in the republic. Laboratory examinations confirmed rabies. The local authorities have initiated an emergency plan to control the spread of the infection.
Related Sources
14 Feb 2008 - Russia- Rabies, human suspected (Kaluga Oblast) Regions.ru, Federation News

Honduras – Poultry Deaths (La Paz)
15 Feb 2008
La Prensa Grafica (El Salvador) [in Spanish, trans. CopyEd.MJ- Promed, edited]
The [Salvadoran] Government reported yesterday [Thu 14 Feb 2008] that a team of technicians had been sent to Honduras to investigate the suspicious deaths of 200 poultry. The [Salvadoran] government has clearly indicated it has not taken a stance on whether it is avian influenza. A barrier has been implemented in the zone, and residents have been advised to abstain from eating eggs or poultry meat for 2 weeks.
Other sources
14 Feb 2008 - Proceso Digital (Honduras)

India - Undiagnosed deaths, caprine – West Bengal
25 Jan 2008
The Times of India (TOI) [edited]
Hundreds of goats have died of an unknown disease over the past 4 days in Birbhum's Rampurhat block II.

EU lifts restrictions on exports of bovine meat from Cyprus
20 Dec 2007
Financial Mirror [edited]
According to this story, the European Union Standing Veterinary Committee decided to lift the restriction measures on exports of bovine meat from Cyprus. The restrictions were imposed after foot and mouth disease [FMD] was detected in Cyprus. The Cyprus government had asked that exports of bovine meat resume. The meat exported will come from areas outside the 10 km [6.2 mile] surveillance zone and under strict sanitary conditions. The same committee had lifted on 3 Dec 2007 the prohibition of dispatching pig-meat from Cyprus from the zones beyond the 10 km zone, around the infected holding where FMD was detected. Cyprus Veterinary Services culled recently thousands of animals, which tested positive for FMD, as part of efforts to eliminate the virus and its destructive consequences for the island's farming sector and the economy.

Sudan – Rift Valley Fever
5 Nov 2007
OIE press release [edited]
The World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) monitors the situation caused by Rift Valley Fever outbreaks, which occurred over the last few weeks in Africa, particularly in Sudan. The OIE recalls the importance of the use of vaccination of susceptible animals as a control measure. This recommendation of the OIE has been recently re-endorsed by the OIE national Delegates of Africa and Middle East during the workshop on RVF held in Cairo (Egypt) on 13-15 Jun 2007. Animal vaccination and, when possible, vector control need to be applied well in advance of expected risk periods for vector activity and occurrence of the disease. Outbreaks of RVF have a significant impact on the trade of ruminants, especially from the Horn of Africa to the Middle East, with a consequent significant loss of income for livestock owners in the affected areas and countries. By recommending the correct implementation of standards and guidelines, the OIE stands for safe trade and against unjustified sanitary barriers. Should countries at risk make the request, the OIE would be in favour of an appropriate animal vaccination campaign to be carried out in areas at risk with the support of the international community.
Related stories
10 Nov 2007 - Sudan – Rift Valley Fever
Reuters alertnet
According to this story, Sudan on Saturday [10 Nov 2007] denied there were any confirmed cases of Rift Valley Fever [RVF] in animals, after almost 250 human cases were recorded, with a death rate of about 30 percent. The disease could devastate livestock in the country, where much of the population relies heavily on cattle farming. But Sudan's minister for animal resources said there were no clinical signs of the virus.Clinical signs usually show a high rate of abortions or deaths of young lambs. In animals other than sheep, however, the disease often shows no symptoms, according to the World Organisation for Animal Health. The minister said 329 samples had been taken from the suspected infected area in White Nile state and had been sent to South Africa for final tests. Results were expected in the next week. In humans, at least 84 have died from almost 250 cases showing haemorrhagic fevers in the White Nile, Sennar and Jazeera states. WHO had said in mid-October 2007 it was investigating an epidemic of haemorrhagic fever which had killed 30 people in Sudan and had confirmed it as Rift Valley Fever on 2 Nov 2007. The virus is transmitted by animals or mosquitoes to humans. There is no human to human transmission.

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