UN agency warns of spread of animal diseases. According to FAO, more than 50 people in Yemen have died from an outbreak of Rift Valley Fever. The virus was first discovered in Kenya in 1930 and is usually transmitted by mosquitoes.
Experts believe the disease was spread by an illegally obtained feed from a foreign ship.
The outbreak has killed 70 pigs and 600 have been slaughtered to avoid a further outbreak. Earlier this year, in Bulgaria, Sardinia, and Italy an outbreak of Bluetongue disease occurred. The disease causes fever and swelling of the tongue affects sheep. The disease had never been reported in those countries before. In an increasingly globalized world veterinary surveillance systems and services are vital to detect these diseases early enough and to prepare contingency plans to contain those outbreaks.