Thanks to vaccination efforts against the new SAT-1 serotype of foot-and-mouth disease, livestock markets in 14 more provinces have reopened. Agriculture and Forestry Minister İbrahim Yumaklı announced that the number of active markets across Türkiye has now reached 38.

Agriculture and Forestry Minister İbrahim Yumaklı stated that measures against the SAT-1 serotype of foot-and-mouth disease, detected in Türkiye for the first time since 1965, are paying off. “We are gradually reopening livestock markets in provinces where vaccination coverage has exceeded 85%,” he said.

The Foot-and-Mouth Institute developed a vaccine in a short time, and 14 million doses were distributed nationwide. Yumaklı emphasized that strict precautions and a large-scale vaccination campaign have largely contained the spread of the disease. Markets first reopened in Hakkari, Van, Edirne, İstanbul, Tekirdağ, Çanakkale and Kırklareli, followed by several provinces in Central Anatolia and the Black Sea region.

This week, markets resumed activity in Yozgat, Sivas, Kayseri, Karaman, Konya, Afyonkarahisar, Eskişehir, Kütahya, Bilecik, Bursa, Balıkesir, Yalova, Kocaeli and Sakarya provinces, bringing the total to 38. “As vaccination success increases, we will continue reopening other provinces step by step,” Yumaklı added.

Next week, markets in Erzurum, Kars, Ardahan, Iğdır, Ağrı and Artvin are also expected to reopen. The minister rejected claims that the vaccine is ineffective or contributes to the spread of the disease, calling them unfounded.