ULAN BATOR, March 5 (Xinhua) -- Mongolia's National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) said here Monday that a martial law has been declared in 12 provinces to contain the spread of the deadly foot-and-mouth disease (FMD).
As of Monday, there have been outbreaks of the FMD in 33 administrative subdivisions in the 12 provinces.
NEMA has distributed 500,000 doses of vaccine to the relevant provinces to fight the disease.
Also, Mongolian quarantine officials have had over 3,300 animals slaughtered since the beginning of this year in the country to contain the spread of the disease.
According to the relevant officials, the disease may have been spread through haycocks.
Mongolian Deputy Prime Minister Ulziisaikhan Enkhtuvshin has been informed about the spread of the FMD. The authorities are working to find out the causes of the disease spread.
The FMD is a viral infectious disease that spreads among cloven-hoofed animals such as cattle, sheep and pigs. The main symptoms of sick animals are increased body temperature, blisters and ulceration in the mucous membranes and hoofs in the mouth.
The disease is rarely transmitted to humans, but humans may also be infected if exposed to the virus.
