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ProMed: Dead cows found in Yemen - cause not clear - possibly internationally dumped

alert

Senior Moderator
FT and ProMED are both non political, but this report has strong political overtones. Easily one of the ten strangest ProMED reports ever. I am posting it simply because of its strangeness. The use of the word "Whatever" in the red sentence is also special. Whatever.

Also, interesting reading for those of use who try to understand what ProMED will and won't post.

http://www.promedmail.org/pls/otn/f..._BACK_PAGE,F2400_P1001_PUB_MAIL_ID:1000,80725

Archive Number 20100101.0010
Published Date 01-JAN-2010
Subject PRO/AH/EDR> Unexplained deaths, bovine - Yemen: RFI

UNEXPLAINED DEATHS, BOVINE - YEMEN: REQUEST FOR INFORMATION
***********************************************************
A ProMED-mail post
<http://www.promedmail.org>
ProMED-mail is a program of the
International Society for Infectious Diseases
<http://www.isid.org>

[1]
Date: Sat 19 Dec 2009
Source: Yemen Post [edited]
<http://yemenpost.net/Detail123456789.aspx?ID=3&SubID=1684>


The Interior Ministry ordered on Friday [18 Dec 2009] the west-based
Coast Guard to prevent an Iranian boat carrying weapons and sick
livestock from entering the country.

The ministry posted on its website that the livestock were found
carrying anthrax after they were tested by Qatari authorities, which
earlier prevented the boat from entering the Gulf state.

The hunt also comes amid accusations of Iranian support for the
Houthi insurgents including providing them with weapons.

Apart from the topic, a campaign is to start in the next few days
that will call for boycotting Iranian products amid accusations the
Islamic Republic of Iran supports the Houthi rebels in the far north.

Chairman of the Watan Foundation for Boosting National Loyalty,
Ibrahim Malik Shuja'a, said the campaign comes in protest at asking
for external help against the national authorities. All Iranian goods
would be affected, he said, adding there must be no exceptions.

Earlier the foundation urged the government to cut the ties with Iran
because Iranian support had already reached the insurgents, who have
been fighting the army for almost 6 years.

--
Communicated by:
ProMED-mail
<promed@promedmail.org>

[This report rang some disinformation bells when I first saw it.
Enquiries are in hand to see if it has any truth, but in the meantime
the following report came out in the Yemeni press. - Mod.MHJ]


******
[2]
Date: Wed 30 Dec 2009
Source: Yemen News Agency (Saba) [edited]
<http://www.sabanews.net/en/news201967.htm>


Field reports pointed out on Wednesday [30 Dec 2009] that 50 bodies
of Somali dead livestock were found near the coasts of Honish
archipelago in the Red Sea.

The reports, prepared by field committees and discussed by the
expanded meeting of the General Authority for Developing Yemeni
Islands held on Wednesday [30 Dec 2009], affirmed that there is no
proof that the Iranian boat, which was carrying cattle rejected by
Qatari authorities, entered the country waters.

Meanwhile, the reports denied what has been cited recently by some
media about presence of large numbers of dead animals on the coasts
of some Yemeni islands, calling those media to investigate the
credibility and accuracy in what they publish.

The expanded meeting, attended by officials from the concerned
authorities, approved mechanisms of disposal of the bodies of dead
animals found off Yemeni islands in addition to the continuation of
investigating the source of those bodies that were found near the
coasts of Honish archipelago.

The participants affirmed the need to gather the efforts of all
concerned authorities to discuss the natural and human threats to the
marine environment of the Yemeni ports and islands and develop
suitable mechanisms to address them.

Earlier in this December [2009], Yemeni west-based Coast Guard hunted
an Iranian boat that the Interior ministry said was carrying infected
livestock. The ministry ordered the Coast Guard in Hodeidah province
[governorate] to prevent the boat from entering the country waters.

It posted on its website that the livestock were found infected with
anthrax after they were tested by Qatari authorities, which earlier
prevented the boat from entering the Gulf state.

--
Communicated by:
ProMED-mail
<promed@promedmail.org>

[This report denies that carcasses have been found and then issues
instructions as to how these carcasses should be dealt with. And the
nationality of the washed-up carcasses is listed as Somali, not
Iranian. All of which may be true as Somalia has traditionally sold
livestock to Saudi Arabia out of the port of Berbera. Something is
happening in this region but what, is unclear.

At its most simple an 'Iranian' boat dumped the dead animals over the
side and the carcasses washed ashore, plus or minus the live
survivors. And/or a Somali cattle boat did the same. Whatever, but
any international transshipment of sick livestock presents a
significant regional threat.


Anyone knowing what is or may be going on is asked to help clarify
the situation. - Mod.MHJ]

[The HealthMap/ProMED-mail interactive map of Yemen is available at
<http://healthmap.org/r/011L>.
An administrative map can be seen at
<http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/middle_east_and_asia/yemen_admin_2002.jpg>.
- Sr.Tech.Ed.MJ]
...................................mhj/mj/lm
 
Re: ProMed: Dead cows found in Yemen - unfounded?

Re: ProMed: Dead cows found in Yemen - unfounded?

http://www.promedmail.org/pls/otn/f..._BACK_PAGE,F2400_P1001_PUB_MAIL_ID:1000,80766

Archive Number 20100105.0044
Published Date 05-JAN-2010
Subject PRO/AH/EDR> Unexplained deaths, bovine - Yemen (02)


UNEXPLAINED DEATHS, BOVINE * YEMEN (02)
***************************************
A ProMED-mail post
<http://www.promedmail.org>
ProMED-mail is a program of the
International Society for Infectious Diseases
<http://www.isid.org>

Date: 5 Jan 2010
From: Dr Peter Roeder
<peter.roeder@taurusah.com>


RE: Unexplained deaths, bovine - Yemen: RFI 20100101.0010
----------------------------------------------------------
I have contacted Dr Mansoor Al-Qadassi,
Director-General of Animal Resources and
Veterinary Quarantine and the Chief Veterinary
Officer of the Republic of Yemen, a good friend
and trusted colleague, about the news reports you
published because of the concern it could raise
in some minds about an occurrence of rinderpest, as has happened in the past.

He has informed me that he had read in the media
that a boat with animals had been rejected from
Qatar and was on its way to Yemen
. A few days
later he received a report saying that some
carcasses were found on one of islands in the Red
Sea (given in the media as the Honish
archipelago) where there are neither people nor
livestock living. A team sent to the islands,
including 2 veterinarians, confirmed the finding
of the carcasses of some 50 small ruminants,
suspected to be of Somali origin (presumably
because of their characteristic appearance), but
no cattle carcasses
. No obvious signs of disease
were seen in the carcasses. The Iranian boat is
understood not to have entered Yemeni territorial waters
.

To my knowledge, the disposal of livestock
carcasses into the sea is a common event
associated with the heavy trade of livestock into
the Arabian Peninsula by dhow from eastern
Africa, as well as by other ships from sources
further afield. Losses during transit can
sometimes be very high from a number of diseases,
including peste des petits ruminants.

Thus, in my opinion, the finding of a few small
ruminant carcasses cannot be considered such an
unusual event and does not signify any major change in disease pattern
.

Dr Mansoor Al Qadassi kindly consented to the submission of this information.

--
Peter Roeder, BVetMed, MSc, PhD, MRCVS, OBE
Taurus Animal Health
Holly Hedge Cottage, Spats Lane,
Headley Down,
Bordon Hampshire GU35 8SY UK

[Thanks to Peter and Dr Al-Qadassi, we are one
down and one to go
. From personal experience the
Somali sheep and goats are different to those
outside Somalia and the Ogaden. When I was in
Somalia in 1980 I was told that some 5-10 percent
of the livestock shipped from Berbera to Jeddah
for the Haj would die en route. Discreet
enquiries are in hand to determine what exactly happened in Qatar
. - Mod.MHJ

The Middle and Near East countries are major
importers of live animals for slaughter;
misfortunes like the one described from Yemen's
waters are not rare. A recent one occurred when
the Panamanian-flagged cargo ship MV DANNY F II,
carrying 83 people and thousands of livestock,
capsized and sank off the Lebanese coast on
Thursday (17 Dec 2009) in bad weather in the
Mediterranean Sea, 11 nautical miles (20 km) from
Tripoli, Lebanon, while sailing from Montevideo,
Uruguay, to Tartarus, Syria, carrying 6
passengers, 77 crew, 10 224 sheep and 17 932 head
of cattle. All of the livestock perished as the
ship sank. (see at
<http://www.tolerance.ca/Article.aspx?ID=69024&L=en>;
thanks to Sabine Zentis). - Mod.AS]

[see also:
Unexplained deaths, bovine - Yemen: RFI 20100101.0010]
....................mhj/arn/ejp/dk
 
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