Wheat rust 'threatens security in Pakistan'
08/03/2010
The threat of wheat rust could cause significant food security problems in Pakistan as winds carry a deadly pathogen into the country.
It could destroy the harvest throughout the nation, Irin News reports.
The disease is known as Ug99 and experts say it will not be long before it arrives in the country.
David Hodson, of the United Nations (UN) Food and Agriculture Organisation's Wheat Rust Disease Global Programme, confirmed: "There is a real possibility that winds could move the pathogen directly into southern Pakistan from Yemen or even the Horn of Africa."
The news provider claimed an outbreak of Ug99 would prove disastrous to a country in which 22 million tons of wheat is consumed every year - the fifth largest amount on the planet.
Last month, the UN declared that Pakistan does not have the resources needed to tackle the threat of HIV and AIDS after it was reported to be facing a "concentrated" epidemic.
By John Curtis
