2024-02-05T13:03:55+00:00
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/ The Veterinary Department of the Iraqi Ministry of Agriculture announced the elimination of the “blue tongue” disease, while clarifying that there is no import or export of meat between Iraq and China, after the Chinese announcement of a ban on the direct and indirect import of ruminants and their products from Baghdad.
The director of the department, Thamer Habib Hamza Al-Khafaji, told the Iraqi News Agency (INA): “The disease (blue tongue) appeared in mid-November of last year 2023.”
A committee was formed to control the disease, and a committee specializing in epidemiology and animal health was sent from the capital, Baghdad, to the infection sites, and samples were taken to laboratories to verify the disease, according to his statement.
Al-Khafaji confirmed the “elimination of the disease (blue tongue),” noting that “during the month of January, Iraq did not record any cases of the disease.”
Regarding the Chinese decision to ban meat imports from the country due to the “bluetongue” disease, he explained that “China took its position after Iraq confirmed on the World Health Organization’s website that it had recorded hotspots of the disease in its territory.”
He stressed that “there is no import or export of meat with China.”
He pointed out that “blue tongue is not contagious and is not transmitted to humans, but rather affects livestock such as sheep, cows, buffalo and goats, as the basis of the disease is a virus transmitted by an insect.”
On January 31, Reuters reported that China had banned direct and indirect imports of ruminants and their products from Iraq due to the outbreak of bluetongue disease.
The announcement came in an announcement by the General Administration of Customs of China on January 26, following a report from Iraq to the World Organisation for Animal Health after the disease was discovered in sheep.
China has banned such imports from Belgium and the Netherlands after an outbreak of the virus, which causes fever, mouth ulcers and in some cases turns the animal’s tongue blue.
Bluetongue is a potentially contagious viral disease transmitted by vectors that affects wild and domestic ruminants such as sheep, goats, cattle, buffalo, deer, most species of antelope and camels, according to the World Organization for Animal Health.
Bluetongue virus infection is not evident in the vast majority of animals but can cause fatal disease.
This disease is transmitted by mosquitoes, and its most important symptoms are high temperature, inflammation, ulceration, erosion and necrosis of the oral mucosa, swelling and cyanosis of the tongue, and lameness due to inflammation of the legs and muscles.
This disease can cause abortion and can lead to death within 8 to 10 days or slow recovery accompanied by wool loss, infertility and delayed growth.
The disease results in significant damage and loss of milk production, wool damage, delayed growth, reduced fertility, and significant weight loss.
Symptoms include fever, bleeding and ulcers in the tissues of the mouth and nose, excessive salivation and nasal discharge, swelling of the lips, tongue and jaw, inflammation (above the hoof) and lameness, weakness, depression and weight loss, diarrhea, vomiting and pneumonia.
There is no public health risk associated with bluetongue disease, as the virus is not transmitted through contact with animals or wool, nor through the consumption of milk, according to the World Organisation for Animal Health.
Vaccination is used as the most effective and practical measure to reduce losses associated with the disease and the possibility of its transmission from the infected animal through vectors, in addition to taking insect control measures.