YEREVAN, August 8. /ARKA/. Armenia’s State Food Safety Service has denied today media reports claiming that 60% of 700 heads of cattle in the village of Dsegh in the province of Lori were infected with foot and mouth disease. The reports said that the outbreak affected also the cattle in another village of Debed.
The State Food Safety Service said it received no such signals from farmers or community heads. It said also that the National Center for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Laboratory Services, which is the only accredited laboratory in the country to diagnose animal diseases, did not identify any case of foot and mouth disease.
The agency said also that the disease can not be detected without conducting a laboratory analysis, and that media reports are not justified, while the use of the term "outbreak’ without experts is irresponsible.
Foot and mouth disease is an infectious disease characterized by fever, the appearance of vesicles and erosion on the mucous membrane of the mouth, as well as on the skin between the fingers and the nails. The most susceptible to infection are cows, horses, camels, dogs, cats and rodents. The main way of infection of people is through raw milk of sick animals or meat. -0-