Turkey Sees 53% Drop in Foot-and-Mouth Disease Cases Due to Third Vaccine Dose, Agriculture Minister Reports
Tarım ve Orman Bakanı İbrahim Yumaklı announced a significant reduction in foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) cases among livestock. The minister revealed that the implementation of a third vaccine dose at the beginning of 2024 resulted in a 53% decrease in the number of reported cases.
In a written statement, Minister Yumaklı highlighted that FMD is a contagious disease found in cloven-hoofed animals such as cattle, buffalo, sheep, goats, and deer. The disease negatively impacts international trade of live animals and animal products, leading to substantial economic losses.
Yumaklı emphasized that the Ministry is intensively combating FMD through continued vaccination efforts. “We increased the number of vaccinations to three this year. We added an additional period at the beginning of the year to the regular spring and autumn vaccinations. The first dose of this intensified vaccination program was administered between January 29 and March 31, 2024,” he explained.
“Measures Taken to Ensure Animal Health Before Eid al-Adha”
Yumaklı noted that during the intensified vaccination period, dubbed the dominant period, 14,714,274 cattle, accounting for 87% of the cattle population, were vaccinated. He reported that thanks to this third vaccination round conducted between the fall of 2023 and spring of 2024, there was a 53% decrease in the number of FMD outbreaks compared to the first six months of last year.
“Following the completion of the dominant period on May 1, the spring vaccination campaign began, and 6 million cattle and 1.2 million small ruminants were vaccinated. By the end of this year, we plan to vaccinate an additional 9 million cattle in the spring period and 15 million cattle in the autumn period. Our Ministry’s Foot-and-Mouth Institute aims to produce 25-30 million doses of FMD vaccine. We have taken measures to ensure animal health before the Eid al-Adha,” Yumaklı concluded.