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Police and Army Seal Off Disease Area in Kosovo
Foot and Mouth Disease Said
In an interview with the independent BK Television on Sunday evening, Federal Agriculgure Minister Tihomir Vrebalov said the police and army had established three "defensive lines" in a bid to stop the disease from spreading.
Vrebalov said several municipalities had been isolated in border regions of the southern province of Kosovo where the highly infectious disease was first detected last week. "We have deployed police and veterinary teams on the eight roads connecting Kosovo with Serbia -- this is our second line of defence," he told BKTV. "A third line is the blockade which has been set up in Serbian municipalities bordering Kosovo."
He said the army had also moved to prevent all uncontrolled crossings of the Yugoslav borders with Albania and Macedonia. Police investigating the spread of the disease through the
Balkans say it appeared to originate in Greece earlier this month, before it struck in Albania. Cattle smugglers have been blamed for bringing it from Albania to Macedonia, while free grazing in border regions with Yugoslavia is believed responsible for the Kosovo epidemic.
The head of the crisis team established to contain the disease, Dr Georgije Trbojevic, said some 180 veterinarians were touring the affected areas, slaughtering any animals diagnosed as having contracted foot-and-mouth. At least 125 head of cattle had been killed by Monday morning, although that figure was expected to rise. A veterinary expert, Marija Popovic said Yugoslavia had no significant quantities of foot-and-mouth vaccines in stock, and would have to import them from other parts of Europe.
In 1974, the former Yugoslavia was declared free of the disease.
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BELGRADE, July 15 (Reuters) - Yugoslavia has sent police and army units to seal off southern municipalities identified as having livestock infected with foot-and-mouth disease, according to agricultural officials.
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Berserkistan, July 11 · Kosovo Albanian Leader in Bonn for Talks
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