Bahrain: Sheep denied entry due to disease fears
Sheeppox can be a fatal disease marked by widespread skin eruption
Dubai: Bahrain yesterday sent back a shipment of sheep from an African nation on the grounds that the animals may have been exposed to highly contagious sheeppox, local media reported
Sheeppox and goatpox are dangerous, frequently fatal diseases marked by widespread skin eruption that are present in parts of southeastern Europe, Africa, and Asia.
The consignment was returned to its country of origin from the Khalifa Bin Salman port, according to the Animal Wealth Resources of the Ministry of Municipalities Affairs and Agriculture. The shipment contained 3,020 heads of animals, including 2,520 sheep and 500 goats.
According to the statement by the Animal Wealth Resources, the animals had “a highly contagious viral illness of sheep and goats of the Poxviridae group.”
Sheep are directly exposed to the disease by direct contact with each other’s breath, nasal secretions, saliva, or dry peels, and indirectly through contaminated equipment.
The agency said its actions followed the 2003 Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Unified Veterinary Quarantine Law and Executive Regulation 7/2004. The veterinary quarantine is the first line of defence to address infectious, common, transmissible and transboundary diseases