FMD Outbreak in Israel Affects Beef Cattle
ISRAEL - The Israeli veterinary authorities have reported an outbreak of foot and mouth disease in Hazafon affecting a beef cattle herd.
22 November 2013
1 minute read
The World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) received an immediate notification on Thursday, 21 November. According to the report, the outbreak was initially observed on 15 November, and confirmed four days later, on 19 November, after antigen (Ag) detection ELISA and reverse transcription - polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) tests were carried out at at the FMD laboratory in Kimron Veterinary Institute.
The report states that a total of 20 animals were found susceptible, out of which five cases were found affected by the FMD virus. The serotype has not yet been confirmed.
According to the OIE, the herd is a beef cattle herd. The clinical signs that were observed were high temperature, salivation, typical lesions in the mouth and lameness with typical interdigital ulcerations.
The herd is located very close from the Syrian border. The season is very unusual for FMD in Israel. From 1975 till now, there were in Israel a total of 330 outbreaks. None of them occurred in November.
The source of the outbreak remains inconclusive.
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