Nearly 50 bulls and buffaloes have died from cowpox while 100 others have the disease in Prek Meas and Thmor Key communes in Siam district, Steng Treng province, according to local authorities.

Seung Nan, Thmor Keo commune chief, said the disease had spread among livestock through water from which the animals drank. He said recently their owners had let their animals go to find food on their own, like every year when rainy season comes.

“Five of my buffaloes were found dead yesterday,” Nan said. “In total, 40 died and 60 are sick since early May.”

Meanwhile, Phoung Lun, Prek Meas commune chief, told The Post that eight bulls and buffaloes have died while 10 were sick after the beginning of the rainy season, the time of year in which livestock are the most important since farmers would need them in their work.

“I have not collected information from each village yet, so I don’t have the exact number,” adding he was to receive reports from village chiefs today.

Leang Seng, head of the provincial Department of Agriculture, said he was waiting for reports from officials, and he would send the vaccines, drugs and veterinary experts to the areas once he received them.