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Akbar Novruz

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The Food Safety Agency of Azerbaijan (AQTA) has implemented measures to protect the country from infectious animal diseases, based on reports from the World Organization for Animal Health (WOAH), Azernews reports.

According to WOAH, outbreaks of small ruminant plague and contagious pleuropneumonia in goats have been detected in Mongolia's Khovd region, while bluetongue cases were reported in Austria. Newcastle disease has surfaced in Poland, and highly pathogenic avian influenza has been recorded in France's Normandy region and Israel's Central District.

To prevent the spread of these diseases, AQTA has introduced temporary restrictions on the import and transit of susceptible live animals, genetic materials, and animal products from affected areas, particularly those within specified distances from outbreak sites. These restrictions include:

• A ban on importing or transiting live small and large ruminants, camels, and related genetic materials from a radius of 150 km around infected farms in Austria.
• A prohibition on importing live poultry, hatching eggs, and related products from infected areas in France and Israel unless subjected to heat treatment that destroys disease-causing viruses.

Additionally, AQTA has urged the State Customs Committee to enhance control measures for vehicles entering or transiting Azerbaijan from these territories.

These steps align with WOAH's "Land Animal Health Code" and aim to protect Azerbaijan's territory from potential outbreaks.