Cattle farmers in the region of Tikves attended a training lecture on Tuesday on how to prevent spread of the lumpy skin disease, that has already infected hundreds of animals in the neighboring region of Demir Kapija.
"This was an unknown disease for us. It is spread through mosquitoes, ticks and flies, and can cause significant damage to the herds. We are trying to inform the farmers to destroy infected animals. Even though the disease is not dangerous to humans, and even the meat is edible after being cooked, it can affect the herds badly", said Ana Damovska from the USAID supported network to help agriculture adapt to climate change.
Some 50,000 vaccines were made available to farmers to help stop the disease, which has appeared in Macedonia following past outbreaks in Bulgaria.