The Ministry of Agriculture is considering stopping the importation of camels from Sudan after 1270 were found infected with the hoof-and-mouth disease. The camels were kept at the veterinary quarantine in Shalatin on the border with Sudan. Minister of Agriculture Amin Abaza decided to form a committee from the Veterinary Quarantines, the Preventive Medicine Department and the Animal Health Research Institute to analyze the samples taken from the infected camels again, as the disease poses a danger to our animal wealth in the event it enters the country. Official sources said if the second analysis proves the camels are infected, they will be returned to Sudan or killed by the veterinary services, which means banning the importation of camels from Sudan completely. The veterinary directorates in the provinces will inspect the camel markets in the coming days to take samples for analysis. Dr. Said Foda, Director of Veterinary Medicine in the Red Sea, said the 1270 camels arrived in Shalatin on June 12. Random samples were sent to the Animal Health Research Institute in Giza, which found 26 positive and 101 negative cases.
