The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization(FAO) is urging farmers to pay attention to trans-boundary(跨界) animal diseases. Officials warn that pests can spread quickly from one country to the next.
Experts from across Africa say trans-boundary diseases kill between 10 and 20 percent of the animals every year. The experts gathered in Cameroon last month to discuss the problem. They suggested large vaccination (接种)and pest eradication(根除) programs to stop the spread of the diseases.
Dr. Taiga is Cameroon's livestock minister. He says pests like nose bot flies(马鼻蝇)and wool maggots(肉蝇蛆 ) are harming animals in some communities in his country.
Dr. Taiga says all animals in an area must be killed if one animal is affected because the diseases are infectious(传染性的). They spread quickly from animal to animal. He says that is why the FAO and the World Organization for Animal Health are working together to destroy the diseases. He says that when central African countries succeed in killing the pests, their human populations will enjoy better quality protein.
Pests can spread diseases and also cause health problems known as secondary infections. Some infections cause the animals to become very tired. They may not eat. Then they die.
Dr. Felix Njemi is an animal health officer at the FAO. He says the large number of animal deaths makes food crisis worse in Africa, especially in countries south of the Sahara.
Many poor people in African countries depend on goats and sheep for their livelihoods. The FAO says people become weak to famine (饥荒)when pests attack and kill their animals.
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