 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Netherlands to slaughter more animals in Q fever epidemic
The Hague (AFP) Dec 16, 2009 The Netherlands stepped up measures Wednesday against the world's biggest Q fever epidemic that has killed 10 humans, by ordering the slaughter of over 30,000 animals, a press release said. The ministry of agriculture announced the "preventative slaughter" of 34,000 expectant goats and ewes, and 1,200 billy goats "will be killed too as they can transmit the infection through their sperm". Q fever, found in 55 Dutch farms so far, has killed six people in 2009 and Dutch authorities say 10 farm workers have died in total since the fever appeared in 2007 in the south of the country. The slaughter had involved 15,000-20,000 non-vaccinated expectant goats, but this has now been extended to vaccinated animals in an attempt to limit the spread of bacteria when animals give birth or during forced abortions. The slaughter accounts for more than half the livestock from the 55 infected farms, mostly situated in the southern Brabant province. The authorities warn that the slaughter will now be carried out in all farms where the infection is found. All reproductive activity in ovine and caprine farms is forbidden until July 2010 and reproduction between animals in the infected farms has been banned for life. An obligatory animal vaccination campaign was launched at the start of 2009 in the Netherlands, but due to a lack of vaccinations, it was not able to cover the whole country. In humans the symptoms of Q fever are similar to flu. Share This Article With Planet Earth
Related Links Farming Today - Suppliers and Technology
Rural communities lead Nepal's green fightbackKavre, Nepal (AFP) Dec 15, 2009 Thirty years ago, Nepalese farmer Badri Prasad Jangam realised that the once thickly-wooded hillside that overlooks his home had been transformed into a barren slope. Decades of deforestation had taken their toll, stripping away the topsoil, affecting vital underground water sources and threatening to bring disaster to a community entirely dependent on farming for its livelihood. Now the ... read more |
|
|
| The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2009 - SpaceDaily. AFP and UPI Wire Stories are copyright Agence France-Presse and United Press International. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by SpaceDaily on any Web page published or hosted by SpaceDaily. Privacy Statement |
del.icio.us
Digg
Reddit
YahooMyWeb
Google
Facebook