FMD recovery rates improve as farms count losses

AMMAN — Foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) has caused major losses for affected properties, amounting to over JD35 million, said Chairman of the Dairy Cattle Cooperative, Laith Al Hajj.

According to Al Hajj, the disease has significantly decreased milk yield. The most recent numbers indicate that direct milk production losses reached 350 tonnes, he added. Infected dairy cows, which usually produce 25 litres of milk, worth JD12 per day, are not reaching their former quantities, Al Hajj told The Jordan Times over the phone.

“Ninety per cent of the afflicted farms will continue to have serious economic challenges for quite some time,” he said. 

The Ministry of Agriculture on Saturday revealed in its daily FMD report that “the number of FMD infections in the Kingdom has decreased, and according to the charts and data tracking the prevalence of the disease, recovery rates for the infected properties have reached 75 per cent”.

Newly reported FMD cases currently represent only 0.4 per cent of the ministry’s total reported cases. The ministry has also affirmed that it is continuing vaccination campaigns across the Kingdom.

In a statement sent to The Jordan Times, the ministry’s spokesperson, Lawrence Majali, said that “up to this point, there are regulations and procedures regarding the relocation of infected animals”.

He also pointed out that sanitation procedures are underway.