Agriculture Ministry receives new batch of FMD vaccines

AMMAN — As part of its ongoing efforts to prevent further disruptions in the local livestock market, the Ministry of Agriculture has received a new batch of vaccines against the foot-and-mouth disease (FMD).

“The ministry has received over 41,000 vaccines which are to be given to cattle in a number of areas in which FMD-impacted farms are located,” according to the ministry's assistant secretary-general for livestock, Ali Abu Nukta. 

He noted that previously over 70,000 vaccines were given to livestock against FMD.

Additionally, Abu Nukta told The Jordan Times that the new batch comes as part of the efforts to control the new SAT2 variant which was detected in the Kingdom for the first time. 

He stated that the vaccines would be distributed during the current week.

In this regard, Chairman of the Dairy Cattle Cooperative Laith Al Hajj previously commented that “an additional round of vaccination would be a useful tool to ensure protection”. However he noted that it would have been preferable to have received the vaccination earlier.

He said that “vaccination is a positive step forward and is much needed, but financial compensation is a crucial part to have a more resilient livestock industry”.

The Prime Ministry’s decision relating to the compensation of impacted farms has not been made. The compensation is based on the number of cattle deaths, whereas JD1100 is given per head of cattle.