[by:www.51voa.com] [00:00.00]¸ü¶àÌýÁ¦Çë·ÃÎÊ51VOA.COM [00:00.32]The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization [00:04.68]is urging farmers to be on guard against transboundary animal diseases. [00:11.52]Officials warn that ticks, lice and other pests [00:17.14] can spread quickly from one country to the next. [00:21.49]Experts from across Africa [00:24.24]say trans-border diseases kill between 10 and 20 percent [00:29.92]of the continent's animals every year. [00:33.60]The experts gathered in Cameroon last month to discuss the problem. [00:39.57]They suggested large vaccination and pest eradication programs [00:44.88]to stop the spread of the diseases. [00:48.25]Dr. Taiga is Cameroon's livestock minister. [00:53.20]He does not use a first name. [00:56.88]He says pests like nose bot flies and wool maggots [01:02.24]are harming animals in some communities in his country. [01:06.68] [01:11.54]Dr. Taiga says all animals in an area must be killed if one animal is affected [01:18.08]because the diseases are contagious. [01:21.44]They spread quickly from animal to animal. [01:25.52]He says that is why the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) [01:30.32]and the World Organization for Animal Health [01:33.52]are working together to destroy the diseases. [01:36.60]He says that when central African countries succeed in killing the pests, [01:42.80]their human populations will enjoy better quality protein. [01:48.32]Sebastien Mongomo is an animal pest expert from Equatorial Guinea. [01:54.40]He told the conference that diseases caused by pests [01:58.88]have killed at least 10 percent of the sheep and goats in his country this year. [02:05.12] [02:10.04]Dr. Mongomo says the borders between Cameroon, [02:13.84]Gabon and Equatorial Guinea are largely unguarded. [02:19.12]He notes it is difficult to control the movement of animals. [02:24.12]Pests can spread diseases and also cause health problems [02:29.32]known as secondary infections. [02:31.80]Some infections cause the animals to become very tired. [02:37.28]They may not eat. Then they die. [02:41.80]Dr. Felix Njemi is an animal health officer at the FAO. [02:47.40]He says the large number of animal deaths is worsening the food crisis in Africa, [02:53.72]especially in countries south of the Sahara. [02:57.58]"The strategy is the large vaccination at the country level. [03:02.39]Undertake surveillance to detect any case of the disease [03:06.68]and strengthen collaboration between member nations [03:10.16]and even between international institutions. [03:13.13]Imagine somebody who has 10 animals and loses eight. [03:16.97]The disease can have impact in food security." [03:20.44]Many poor people in African countries [03:23.52]depend on goats and sheep for their livelihoods. [03:28.08]The FAO says people become vulnerable to famine [03:32.40]when pests attack and kill their animals. [03:36.60]I'm Jonathan Evans.