Appendix 12 BACK-TO-OFFICE REPORT
Reporting Officer: Country visited and dates of visits: Date of report: Purpose of the visit: Follow up:
Carsten Potzsch, AGAH, (FMD epidemiology consultant, under EUFMD/EC programme) Turkey, Istanbul 31.10.-1.11.07 13.11.2007 Identification of measures to reduce the risk of spread of FMD in Thrace during and after Kurban Bayram 2007. Georgia. Meeting with GDPC to discuss implementation of recommendations from this report (planned in week 47).
Issues and Outcomes Objectives Identification of measures that can be immediately applied, that will reduce risk of infected animals or vehicles leaving the markets. Further identification of bodies that should apply mentioned measures and also the constraints to application. Review of the biosecurity measures in place at the Istanbul markets, focusing on: • a description of the permanent and temporary (Kurban) markets for live animals, such as location, facilities for veterinary control and disinfection, problems and opportunities • identification of those markets which present highest risk of having infected animals and from where vehicles used for livestock transport return (directly) to Thrace; • identification of actions that are feasible and would reduce the risk of contaminated vehicles returning to Thrace (e.g. disinfection procedures, problems with this and documentation/monitoring of disinfection); • actions that are feasible, temporary and longer term, to reduce illegal animal movements from these markets into Thrace. Introduction Kurban Bayram (KB) takes place from 20 to 23 December in 2007. In previous years during KB about 5 million sheep and 0.8 million cattle were slaughtered in Turkey. Before the celebrations in 2006/07 around 100,000 cattle and 67,000 sheep were moved from Anatolia to Istanbul for KB, with 70-80,000 cattle and 40,000 sheep being transported to the European side. The preferred age of sheep is around one year and for cattle around 2 years, preferably males. Animals from Anatolia are allowed into Thrace only 15 days before KB and only to the European parts of the provinces Istanbul and Canakkale. For the buyer of animals for slaughter at KB it is very important that these animals are healthy. It would be very difficult to sell animals with small abnormalities (e.g. broken horns) or signs of disease for this ritual slaughter. It is therefore of vital interest of dealers to trade healthy animals. This is different to other times of the year when animals with FMD signs might be easily traded because they sell for a cheaper price and recover easily. KB is the biggest holiday in Turkey and customs are deep rooted and have a strong religious background. Therefore changing people’s attitudes and minds is a long process. Markets and biosecurity There are permanent markets, that are mainly run by the trade organizations (Trade Borsa) and temporary markets operated by the municipality. Permanent markets seem to have some biosecurity facilities including entrance gates, permanent fences and disinfection facilities. The location of the temporary markets is decided by a commission consisting of municipality, Trade Borsa and GDPC in the second half of November. Minimal requirements for a temporary market include: solid floor, space for storage of manure, the availability of water and fencing. Data about markets and slaughter places during the 2006/07 KB were obtainable at the time of the mission for 16 of the 21 European districts of Istanbul. There were 55 markets and about 250 slaughter locations approved by the commission in these 16 districts. Temporary slaughter places are usually located near markets and are often market stalls or car washing facilities. _________________________________________________________________ cc: AGA Reg. AN 15/1; AGA staff (u-drive); REU/SEUR/LOBR; de Leeuw, President EUFMD; Alf Füssel, DG-SANCO; Van Goethem, DG-SANCO; Aldo Dekker, Chairman RG, Belgium; Fao-Turkey;
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