The third dose of the vaccine reduced the number of cases by 53% in anthrax disease

Minister of Agriculture and Forestry Ibrahim Yumaklı announced that increasing the routine annual 2-dose vaccination against foot-and-mouth disease to 3 doses at the beginning of 2024 has resulted in a 53% decrease in the number of cases. Yumaklı stated in a written statement that foot-and-mouth disease, an infectious disease encountered in cloven-hoofed animals such as cattle, buffalo, sheep, goats, and deer, negatively affects international trade of live animals and animal products among countries, causing significant economic losses. Emphasizing the intensive efforts in combating foot-and-mouth disease, Yumaklı mentioned that vaccination campaigns continue without slowing down. Reminding that they increased the vaccinations to 3 doses earlier this year, Yumaklı stated, ‘We added an additional period of vaccinations at the beginning of the year to the spring and fall vaccinations. We administered the first dose within the scope of our dominant vaccination program between January 29 and March 31, 2024.’ Minister Yumaklı provided information that during the dominant period in foot-and-mouth vaccination, a total of 14,714,274 cattle, accounting for 87% of the total cattle population, were vaccinated. ‘We took precautions regarding animal health before the Feast of Sacrifice,’ Minister Yumaklı mentioned. Yumaklı reported a 53% decrease in the number of outbreaks compared to the first 6 months of the previous year due to the third foot-and-mouth vaccination carried out between the fall of 2023 and the spring of 2024, known as the dominant period. ‘Following the end of the dominant period, the spring campaign started on May 1, and 6 million cattle and 1.2 million small ruminants were vaccinated. We plan to vaccinate an additional 9 million cattle for the spring period and 15 million for the fall period by the end of this year. We aim to produce 25-30 million doses of foot-and-mouth vaccine at our Foot-and-Mouth Institute within the Ministry. Precautions have been taken regarding animal health before the Feast of Sacrifice.