A provincial agriculture department official disinfects a cattle farm in Siem Reap province earlier this month. INFORMATION DEPARTMENT
Officials from the Siem Reap Provincial Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries are conducting a disinfection campaign on cattle farms, slaughterhouses, and barns in livestock communities throughout the province to prevent the spread of diseases such as Haemorrhagic Septicaemia (HS).
Department director Tea Kim Soth said disinfection started at the beginning of the rainy season. During the rainy season and floods, some animals are more susceptible to HS.
He explained that when it rains heavily and frequently, it will make each barn muddy, which can lead to many diseases that require the most urgent measures. The spraying was carried out in almost all districts in the province, but some areas are locked down to prevent Covid-19, and officials could not gain access, which affected the campaign.
However, Kim Soth said although some parts of the province are locked down, officials still disinfect other areas and will continue the campaign until other locations reopen in the future.
“The disinfection campaign in barns and farms in Siem Reap will be done throughout the rainy season. Once it is over, there will be no more disease. In the past, this province used to have cases of dead cows such as from lumpy skin disease,” he said.
He said most people now raise cattle for meat and business, not for farm work. If there is a disease or illness, it will make them lose income as one cow can cost up to eight million riel ($2,000).
In case of sick or dead cows related to HS, people do not eat the meat because it can affect their health. But cows infected with certain diseases can be slaughtered for meat. In Siem Reap, there are currently more than 130,000 cows raised at the family level and for other businesses.
Prum Vich, head of the Animal Health and Production Bureau under the provincial agriculture department, said on September 20 that biosecurity spraying was part of the prevention of communicable diseases to animals and protect animal health.
He said that during the rainy season, animals and pets are more susceptible to illness and death due to viruses and bacteria, which can weaken their health and make them vulnerable to infection.
He said that is why it was necessary to take safety measures by spraying disinfectants both in barns and slaughterhouses to ensure that the meat is safe for consumers.
“Implementing biosecurity measures is very important in the animal husbandry process … We would like to inform people who raise animals to be aware of infectious diseases in the rainy season. People must implement biosecurity measures and vaccination of animals according to the programme from the provincial agriculture department,” he said.
