Malaysia Veterinary Forum (Archive)

Dr. TanDY

News article about FMD. This disease is causing a lot of problems in Asia lately.
Source: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/4863.html

China reports foot and mouth disease outbreak; slaughters 91
Even as China is struggling to contain the bird-flu causing H5N1 virus, it reported an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) among its cattle. Around 91 cattle had to be slaughtered in the Asian country due to the disease, Chinese agriculture ministry has said.

A highly contagious viral infection, FMD usually affects cloven-hoofed domestic animals like cattle, pigs, sheep, goats, and water buffalo. The disease is characterized by high fever, oral and feet blisters and heavy weight loss.

The latest outbreak was reported in eastern Shandong Province and is believed to have begun on December 6, when some animals on a farm in the Changqing district started showing signs of poor appetite and developed high fever.

Infection spread to other animals on the farm and the total number of sick animals hit 48. The diagnosis of FMD was finally made on December 29 and the 48 ill cattle were slaughtered along with 43 others that shared close proximity with them. The farm has also been quarantined and other animals of the area are being inoculated to prevent the virus from spreading.

The Shandong outbreak is the only one that has been reported. But according to sources, the disease has reared its head near Beijing and in Hebei, Jiangsu, and Xinjiang provinces too. China has repeatedly invited flak from health officials the world over for its reluctance to disclose health disasters in the country.

Earlier in April-May, a number of outbreaks of Asian type I foot-and-mouth were reported in five provincial regions, leading to the killing of 4,000 cattle all over the country. Farmers who lost their cattle were paid between 4,000 and 6,000 yuan to compensate for their loss, the agriculture ministry added.

tcloh · Joined: 04 Jan 2006 Posts: 1 Location: Selangor

Date: Mon 2 Jan 2006
From: ProMED-mail <promed@promedmail.org>
Source: The Star, 2 Dec 2006 [edited]
<http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2006/1/2/nation/13005595&sec=nation>

Suspected FMD killing cows in Sungai Siput
- -----------------------------------------------
A cattle owner who won recognition as a successful livestock breeder
last year [2005] is a dejected man these days. In the last 3 weeks,
12 of his calves and 7 cows have died from suspected foot and mouth
disease (FMD). 6 other cows are also showing signs of being infected.

"I used to spend a lot of time at the farm, but now I seldom go
there, as I feel very sad," said the man, who took over his family
business of rearing dairy cows 5 years ago. He is contemplating how
best to save his farm, as 2 of the animals lie dead, suspected to be
victims of FMD.

His farm has 100 head of Friesian cows imported from Australia at RM
4000 [USD 1059] per head.

Several other livestock breeders here and in Ipoh also complained
that their calves had died over the last 3 weeks.

State veterinary officer Dr. Wan Mohd Kamil Wan Nik said the FMD
situation was under control. He said his officers had vaccinated over
20 000 cows in 4 districts, namely Batang Padang, Kinta, Kuala
Kangsar, Larut Matang and Selama in November 2005. He urged farmers
to contact the department immediately if their cows or calves die so
that a post mortem can be conducted to determine the cause of death.

- --
ProMED-mail
<promed@promedmail.org>

[FMD is endemic in Malaysia (Peninsular); see moderator's comment in
20051214.3592. Sungai Siput is a small town in the district of Kuala
Kangsar, about 30 km north of the state capital Ipoh, in Perak State
(Latitude 4.7500, Longitude 101.0667). The North-South Highway
bypasses the town. For map, see
<http://www.fallingrain.com/world/MY/7/Sungai_Siput2.html>.

FMD is known for its potential to cause high mortality in young
animals (calves, lambs, kids, piglets). Although disease symptoms in
(unvaccinated) older animals might be serious, followed by severe
economical losses, mortality is less common. The most common
complication in dairy cattle is mastitis, leading to culling. Timely
vaccinations with effective vaccines and meticulous biosecurity
measures will significantly reduce or even eliminate losses in
endemic regions.

Laboratory tests of samples from affected (vaccinated) animals are
essential in order to exclude other diseases or the involvement of
FMD serotypes which are not included in the vaccine. - Mod.AS]

[see also:
2005
- ----
Foot & mouth disease - Malaysia (Peninsular) 20051214.3592
2004
- ----
Foot & mouth disease, bovine - Malaysia (Peninsular) 20040602.1502
Foot & mouth disease, bovine - Malaysia (Peninsular)(02) 20040223.0578
Foot & mouth disease, bovine - Malaysia (Peninsular) 20040129.0344
2003
- ----
Foot & mouth disease - Malaysia (Peninsular) 20030302.0527
2002
- ----
Foot & mouth disease - Malaysia (Peninsular) (02) 20020501.4064
Foot & Mouth Disease - Malaysia (Peninsular) 20020407.3900
2001
- ----
Foot & mouth disease - Malaysia (Peninsular): OIE 20010723.1434
1999
- ----
Foot & mouth disease - Malaysia ex Myanmar 19990406.0561
Foot & mouth disease - Malaysia (Peninsular) 19990302.0296]
.................arn/msp/lm

------------------------------

Dr. TanDY · Posted: Wed Jan 04, 2006 9:49 pm Post subject:

Nice to see you here Dr Loh :-P

Dr Ooi · Joined: 20 Dec 2005 Posts: 41

nice to have you around, Dr.Loh

Dr Kwok · Joined: 05 Jan 2006 Posts: 130 Location: Selangor

its so wonderful that all the professional ppl coming in !!

Dr csh · Joined: 21 Jan 2006 Posts: 425

It would be foolish for China to cull any non-affected cows as a control measure. FMD is a bad disease for the cow itself but a far greater economic threat due to trade restrictions. However, China, like Malaysia, do not have enough cows for it's own consumption so the trade effects are very minimal. The dairy industry in China is booming just like many other industries and they have been buying alot of cattle from all over the place especially Australia and New Zealand. The last time I checked, the average per capital consumption of milk in China was about 6.6 kg but the per capita consumption in the cities like Shanghai is about double that number. So, do the math, even if the average per capital consumption increase by even a little bit say 2-3 kg, times that with 1.1 billion.... that is alot of milk they have to make or buy. If you are a buying country you need to accept the fact that you will be bringing in diseases with these animals and a national vaccination program may be a good idea to control the problem. Eradication programs are not for a country like China... at least for now.

About the producer who lost calves to a suspected FMD outbreak, I have my suspicions that it was not a FMD outbreak. If it was, the state vets will be able to diagnose the disease and launch a ring vaccination program. There are alot of diseases that can wipe out calves so necropsies and lab tests will need to be done if the farmer wants to know for certain what killed those animals. It may well be FMD but I would definitely put it down lower on my differentials unless they find typical lesions. Even vesicles are not diagnostic since there are many vesicular diseases and if the cows do not have disease, then, either the cows were vaccinated before and somewhat immune, or it will be highly unlikely that the cows will be able to be in the same farm and not have clinical signs.