The veterinary authorities of Morocco have declared, from January 10 2019 to date, 3 foot-and-mouth disease focus serotype O in individual beef, sheep and goat farms. Two of them in the Béni Mellal-Khénifra region (Ouled Sidi Chennane, Krifate, Fquih Ben Saleh), in the center of the country, and a third party in the Tangier-Tetouan-Hoceima region (Gouaret el Mchaala, Laaouama, Tanger Assilah), located in northern Morocco about 400 km from previous.
Morocco has not declared a foot-and-mouth disease outbreak since November 13, 2015 when it declared the latest focuses on the O EM-SA / Indian 2001 serotype, although in the country a vaccination program is exclusively implemented in cattle, with annual revaccination, and has a control program approved by the OIE in force.
The Moroccan authorities have immediately put in place measures to prevent the spread of the disease from the three focal points detected, such as: movement ban and intensive control within the peri-focal protection and surveillance zones, sanitary vacuum, cleaning and disinfection of the affected farms, epidemiological investigation in order to try to clarify the origin of the focuses and their possible dissemination, as well as peri-focal vaccination with a vaccine against serotype O.
