Iraq’s Nineveh contains FMD; livestock breeders raise concerns

Shafaq News/ Iraq’s Nineveh Province has fully contained the recent spread of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD), which primarily affected buffaloes, an animal health official confirmed on Saturday.

Omar Al-Hayali, Director of the Veterinary Hospital in Nineveh, told Shafaq News Agency that the hospital's staff had contained the FMD outbreaks, noting that the province recorded only a few cases, with three buffaloes dying from the disease.

“The cases reported by some media outlets involve animals that died earlier from causes other than FMD,” he explained. “The hospital staff has formed urgent inspection teams and launched field surveys to check for any infections.”

The director also urged livestock breeders to visit the hospital or its affiliated centers if they suspect any cases of the disease. "The hospital and its facilities offer treatment for all related infections, and their staff conducted vaccination campaigns in August and October 2024 to combat the disease, which has been circulating in Iraq since the 1930s."

On the other hand, Ahmed Issa, a buffalo breeder in the Badush area, northwest of Mosul, confirmed several deaths and expressed doubts about the numbers reported by the veterinary hospital, claiming it was downplaying the severity of the outbreak.

“The spread of the disease is due to the lack of FMD vaccines, as well as the import of livestock from outside Iraq without the necessary medical checks.”