AN official with the Livestock Breeding and Veterinary Department has urged farmers to be vigilant for symptoms of foot and mouth disease, following a sharp rise in cases among cattle since the start of the year.

Dr Than Hla, the director of the department’s Research and Control Division said 950 cases of the highly-infectious disease were reported to the end of June, an increase of 100 reported cases on the figure for all of 2003.

Most of the reported cases this year had occurred in Kayin State and in Yangon, Mandalay and Bago divisions, he said.

Dr Than Hla said wetter than average weather since the start of the monsoon had contributed to the rise in the number of cases of the disease.

He said the department has issued warnings on television and in newspapers aimed at making farmers more aware of the disease, which sharply reduces production in milk cows and makes draft cattle less resistant to fatigue.

The effect on draft cattle can be detrimental for farmers who rely on the animals to plough their fields in preparation for planting crops, said Dr Than Hla.

If infected cattle were not cured, there was a risk the disease could spread to other cloven-hoofed animals, such as pigs and goats.

Dr Than Hla said any farmer whose cattle contracted the disease should immediately inform the nearest office of the department.