May 24, 2007

OIE declares Brazil's Santa Catarina region FMD-free

The Paris-based World Animal Health Organization (OIE) has declared the Brazilian state of Santa Catarina free of the foot-and-mouth disease (FMD), according to Pedro Camargo, president of Brazil's Pork Exporters' Association.

Santa Catarina is the country's biggest pork producer and the first Brazilian state to be marked free of the disease. The announcement is expected to resume the state's pork exports.

FMD began its outbreaks in October 2005 to major states Mato Grosso do Sul and Parana which prompted importing countries to ban Brazilian meat.

FMD is a highly contagious viral illness that affects cloven-hoofed animals like cattle, sheep and pigs. Characterized by sores and blisters on the hooves and mouths, it can cause dramatic weight loss, steep declines in milk production, sterility and occasionally death.