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By Reem Tombokti.
Tripoli 10 May 2013:
The government has stepped up its efforts to control the spread of the deadly poultry virus . . .[restrict]Newcastle Disease, by importing a vaccine to immunise chickens.
The Libyan National Company for Veterinary Drugs is importing the new vaccine after laboratory tests revealed that the strain of this outbreak is different from previous episodes of the disease. The government’s current vaccination stocks cannot treat this new strain.
The virus was first identified in the country in early April and, since then, thousands of birds have died and affected premises closed.
“We have printed and distributed leaflets and newsletters to inform and educate farmers on the dangers of the virus,” a spokesperson at the guidance and media office for the National Centre for Animal Health, Abd Assalam Mohammed, told the Libya Herald.
The highly-contagious virus, however, continues to spread across the country.
“Some farmers do not follow the regulations and guidelines the ministry gives them in order to prevent such outbreaks,” Mohammed said. “When building a poultry farm a space of two kilometres should be left between farms but some people do not follow this rule.”
He added: “Such procedures are meant to facilitate controlling the spread of any outbreaks when they occur.”
Newcastle Disease is highly contagious, and susceptible birds in a flock can all be affected in less than a week, according to the World Organisation of Animal Health. [/restrict]
