Kyrgyz scientist aganst foot-and-mouth

Scientists in Kyrgyzstan say they have produced a new vaccine against foot-and-mouth disease, which protects local animals for up to three years.

Professor Kengesh Ryskulov told the BBC that was an improvement of at least a year over the vaccine at present in use, that is produced in Russia.

He said experiments over the past two years had shown that the new vaccine protects a range of animals - horses, cattle, sheep, and pigs.

He said Kyrgyzstan is expected to start commercial production later this year, and the new vaccine would be available also to other Central Asian countries.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service