Foot and mouth disease breaks out in Siberia

Farm animals with symptoms of foot-and-mouth disease have been found in farm households in Zabaikalye region, Russia’s Siberia, the Russian agricultural watchdog’s regional department told (Itar-Tass) on Wednesday.A state of emergency was declared in the village of Duroi, where an outbreak of the disease had been reported.“Samples from infected animals were taken and sent to the All-Russian Research Institute of Animal Health,” the watchdog said.Zabaikalye is one of Russian regions, where outbreaks of foot-and-mouth disease have been repeatedly registered over the past years. In September-November 2013, quarantine was imposed in five settlements of the region over the spread of foot-and-mouth disease among cattle.Then the virus was supposedly brought from China.“The results of the foot-and-mouth virus genotyping in China’s provinces, Qinghai and Guangdong, proved that the virus is 99% identical to the disease that later affected farm animals in Zabaikalye,” the watchdog said. “This fact confirms that the disease had been brought to the territory of Russia through the border.”