YEREVAN. – Proper veterinary control is not exercised in the eastern regions of Turkey, and this situation has become a hotbed for livestock diseases.

Head of the Veterinary Inspectorate of the State Service for Food Safety of Armenia, Hovhannes Mkrtchyan, noted the aforementioned at a press conference on Saturday.

Mkrtchyan stated this commenting on Russia’s banning the imports of certain products of animal origin from Armenia, and due to the foot-and-mouth disease that was detected in Armenia.

This new type (AG-VII) of the foot-and-mouth disease in Armenia, and which is new for the region, was recorded in December 2015, in an Armavir Province village bordering Turkey.

Considering that this disease is transmitted through the air to an area of up to 200 kilometers, it can easily spread also across the border, including t Armenia.

This new type of the foot-and-mouth disease, which was detected in Turkey and Iran and which is immune to the relevant vaccines that are administered in Armenia, has probably spread from India and Saudi Arabia.

By a special order of the Armenian side, the Russian Federal Centre for Animal Health of the Rosselkhoznadzor (Federal Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Surveillance of the Russian Federation) will prepare the necessary vaccine.