University of Basra leads in isolation and registration of foot-and-mouth disease virus isolates
A research team at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine and the Faculty of Agriculture at the University of Basra, consisting of Dr. Wissam Munther Mohammed Saleh, Dr. Hassan Naama Habib and PhD student Adeeb Iyad Dawood, recorded the isolation and diagnosis of a virulent variant of the foot-and-mouth disease virus that affects livestock in Basra specifically and all of Iraq.
The research team investigated the source of the epidemic in southern Iraq, where the virus was isolated, characterized and genetically analyzed, and it was found after the examination that a new isolate was isolated and diagnosed for the first time in Basra and Iraq, called SAT1, where it was saved in the global gene bank and the presence of more than one mutation was observed, which is the first building block in the establishment of a national program for the production of a vaccine. A national program to produce a successful and useful vaccine to get rid of the disease permanently because it causes great economic losses represented by large losses of infected animals and low productivity of livestock in terms of meat, milk and its derivatives, in addition to the high cost of treatment and related to the process of trade and consumption of livestock products.
Department of Media and Government Communication
