The Minister of Environment and Water, His Excellency Dr. Rashid Ahmad Bin Fahad, issued a ministerial decision on import regulations of cattle, sheep and goats from countries with recorded cases of Schmallenberg virus. The decision was a result of the recent published scientific bulletin issued by the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) regarding Schmallenberg Virus in 2013 .
Therefore, to maintain public interest, the ministry placed regulations in case of animal imports from countries with recorded cases of the virus. Such regulations include providing a health certificate for the animals stating that the animals have been imported from farms and areas that were never been subject to the virus, provided that there is no virus carrier, and they are tested twice for the virus in a laboratory during the last seven days prior to shipment, or they are imported from farms that were not subject to the virus, provided that there is no virus carrier, and they are tested twice for the virus in a laboratory during the last 28 days prior to shipment, with a proof of negative test results for the virus in both cases .
Also, the ministerial decision affirmed the need to include a statement that the animals were under the supervision of a certified government veterinarian, and did not show any symptoms of the virus during the (28 days) period prior to shipment .
The resolution stated that in case of importing cattle, sheep and goats’ semen and embryos from states that are recognized with Schmallenberg virus cases, veterinary health certificate accompanying the consignment shall state that the semen or embryos are taken from animals which have been laboratory tested for the virus and the test results are proved to be negative .
The annex of the ministerial decision included a list of the types of animals that get infected which are sheep and cows, where mosquitos are the main carriers of the virus. In addition, the decision included a list of states that have registered cases of the Schmallenberg virus, which are Luxembourg, Italy, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Belgium, Spain, Switzerland, and Greece.