Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture (MEWA) has suspended imports of livestock from Sudan and Djibouti, following a bulletin issued by the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE), showing the emergence of the Rift Valley Fever (RVF), in Sudan. Meanwhile, a consignment from Djibouti was rejected by the quarantine department, after testing positive for RVF antibodies, too. MEWA, in the interest of protecting the public health, has stepped up quarantine measures against the disease, warned all veterinary teams and raised animal disease alert to the highest level, and upped community awareness about the disease. It reported that there was immediate coordination with OIE, the Ministry of Health, the Saudi Center for Disease Prevention and Control (Saudi CDC) and neighboring countries to assess the current status. MEWA called on all livestock breeders to report suspected infectious cases, at 8002470000.
