Eighty farms in Turkish controlled northern Cyprus have been quarantined, more than 150 animals have died and almost a thousand are sick from the spread of the “blue tongue” disease, according to leader of the “Union of Animal Producers and Breeders”, Mustafa Naimogoullari.
Speaking to the Turkish press after a meeting held at the Agriculture administration, Naimogoullari spoke of the devastating effect of the disease on the livestock of in the north.
Bluetongue (BT) is a non-contagious, viral disease affecting domestic and wild ruminants (primarily sheep and including cattle, goats, buffalo, antelope, deer, elk and camels) that is transmitted by insects, particularly biting midges of the Culicoides species.