Egypt free from foot and mouth disease: Ministry

CAIRO - 30 March 2020: For the first time, Egypt is free from the foot and mouth disease, according to a statement from the Egyptian Ministry of Agriculture on Monday.

The ministry’s General Organization For Veterinary Services has started a national vaccination campaign against the animal disease since 2018, the statement added, noting that the ministry has made a flu vaccination program against the bird flu virus.

It was announced that the ministry has vaccinated a total of 9.7 million livestock in 2019.

In March 2012, the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) announced that a new strain of foot and mouth disease hit Egypt. In September of the same year, the Ministry of Agriculture announced a national vaccination campaign against the disease and the Rift Valley fever, another viral disease infecting the cattle.