Armenian News Network reports that recently, there has been a decline in bird flu incidence in Armenia, according to the head of Food Safety and State Veterinary Inspection at Armenia's Ministry of Agriculture, Grisha Baghiyan. The news agency was citing a report in Tert.am.

He said there is no lack of vaccine against the disease in the country.

"Villagers procure vaccines and inoculate the poultry on their own.

The crisis made the government remove four vaccines against animal diseases from the list of the drugs provided free of charge." he added.

Cases of bird flu were quite recently recorded in Gegharkunik, Aragatsotn and Syuik regions, but very few birds have died.

Earlier, the president of Armenia's Agrarian-Rural Union, Hrach Berberian, expressed concerns over the spread of bird flu in the Ararat Valley, saying that the Ministry of Agriculture is not taking any measures to prevent the disease.

"The outbreak has caused harm to small- and medium-scale farmers who keep a restricted number of poultry in their yards and cattle sheds.

But there is a threat that the infection could spread to poultry plants, so effective measures to combat the disease are needed," he said, stressing the importance of having veterinarians in villages.

In response, Minister Baghiyan said there have been no cases of swine fever in villages recently, although a quarantine has been declared in risk zones.

"The entire territory of the republic is affected by the African swie fever, and the possibility of the disease recurrence is not ruled out," Mr Baghiyan stressed.

Several years ago, the African swine fever killed several swine in Tavush and Lori regions, according to Armenian News Network. There is no vaccine against the swine disease in Armenia, so killing the animals and burying them in deep vaults remains the only means of preventing the spread of the outbreak.

Further Reading

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You can visit the Avian Flu page by clicking here.