YEREVAN, December 1. /ARKA/. The epidemic situation in the animal husbandry in Armenia is stable and under control, the head of the Food Safety Inspectorate Georgy Avetisyan said at a press conference on Tuesday.
According to him, after the outbreak of hostilities in Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh), a commission was established to develop an action plan with the involvement of specialists from various fields that was supposed to exclude the possibility of sick cattle entering the territory of Armenia from Artsakh and possible biological sabotage.
He said that in cooperation with the police, the administration of Syunik province and the Ministry of Economy, inspections were carried out on the roads to check what kind of cattle entered the territory of Armenia, the directions of delivery were recorded and veterinary measures were carried out, including vaccinations against foot and mouth disease. The cattle was also checked for brucellosis.
“This helped avoid epidemics, and now there is not a single sick animal, especially with such dangerous types of diseases as foot and mouth disease. The preventive measures continue and all animals will be vaccinated against diseases,” Avetisyan said.
He noted that at the moment, 9,600 heads of cattle have already been registered, which were brought from Artsakh, including 4,500 cows, about 5,000 sheep and goats , 140 pigs and 60 horses.
With regard to the possible spread of infections through natural foci of the disease or the spread of soil infection due to the continued walking of cattle on pastures, he said that no such cases were recorded.
“In relation to emphysematous carbuncle and anthrax, compulsory vaccination of livestock is carried out, no cases of outbreaks have been recorded and I hope that there will not be any. The epidemiological situation in the country is stable and under control,”Avetisyan said.
Speaking about cooperation with Artsakh, he noted that the Armenian inspectorate is ready to assist colleagues in connection with concerns about possible outbreaks of diseases, since there are quite a few cases of livestock death in fields and forests.
“We must help in this matter also through food control, at least to prevent poisoning and zoonotic diseases, but so far our colleagues from Artsakh have not asked for help, as they are assessing the overall situation,” Avetisyan said.
From September 27 to November 9, Azerbaijani armed forces, backed by Turkey and foreign mercenaries and terrorists, attacked Nagorno-Karabakh along the entire front line using rocket and artillery weapons, heavy armored vehicles, military aircraft and prohibited types of weapons such as cluster bombs and phosphorus weapons.
On November 9, the leaders of the Russia, Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a statement on the cessation of all hostilities in Artsakh. According to the document, the parties stopped at where they were at that time. The town of Shushi, the districts of Agdam, Kelbajar and Lachin are handed over to Azerbaijan, with the exception of a 5-kilometer corridor connecting Karabakh with Armenia.
A Russian peacekeeping contingent has been deployed along the contact line in Karabakh and along the Lachin corridor. Internally displaced persons and refugees are returning to Karabakh and adjacent regions, prisoners of war, hostages and other detained persons and bodies of the dead are being exchanged.–