Foot-and-mouth has been found in cattle in Turkey, according to the US Department of Agriculture

It reported that the Turkish Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry detected for the first time a SAT-2 strain of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) in cattle during March. The SAT-2 strain of FMD is most often associated with outbreaks of the disease in livestock in southern Africa and is new in Turkey.

The cases are located in the eastern half of Turkey, though media reports suggest there may be additional cases in other parts of the country.

In response, Turkish authorities instituted measures to halt the spread of the virus, including quarantine, traceability, vaccination, movement controls, and disinfection procedures. Under the ministry's orders, animal markets were closed and movement of FMD-susceptible animals restricted across the country.

READ MORE: Food safety being put at risk by poor border management

Exemption from these movement controls only apply to animals sent directly to slaughterhouses for processing, or those animals designated for official export or import channels.

The Turkish livestock industry is worried that the virus will impact meat and milk yields, thereby driving retail prices for these products even higher. The detection of this new FMD strain comes at a time when the country’s livestock industry was already reeling from the effects of devastating earthquakes, as well as tough economic conditions that forced many farmers to prematurely liquidate their livestock inventories.

The ministry announced, in early March, it had developed a vaccine against the SAT-2 serotype and would immediately begin vaccinating susceptible animals. According to livestock producers, it is critical to complete this vaccination campaign and resume the movement of animals ahead of the Islamic holiday, the Feast of Sacrifice (Eid al-Adha), which this year is at the end of June.