January 5, 2012

Four days after lifting a state of emergency imposed in the region in September, Paraguay confirmed a new outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) yesterday in the north of the country.

Daniel Rojas, head of the Government's animal health service, said that a positive test result of the highly contagious disease for cattle had been reported to the World Organisation for Animal Health.

The authorities ordered the slaughter of about 150 cattle belonging to a rancher near San Pedro, about 400 kilometres north of Asuncion. The outbreak was about 30 kilometres from the one reported in September, which led to the slaughter of about 1,000 animals.

Paraguay, one of the 10 largest beef exporters in the world, suspended exports in September and had been preparing to resume sales to Russia, Brazil and Venezuela. As a result of last year's outbreak, Paraguay's beef exports for 2011 fell sharply to US$686.11 million, from about US$882.14 million the previous year.

One of the most contagious animal diseases known to scientists, foot-and-mouth disease (also known as hoof-and-mouth) infects mainly cattle and swine but also sheep and goats. The disease can be spread by dust, animal-to-animal contact in herds, through consumption of contaminated animal products and even by farm implements and vehicles. Although adult animals normally do not die from the disease, they must be destroyed once infected to keep it from spreading.

The Government paid compensation last year to owners of the animals but will not this time, according to officials. Nestor Nunez, president of the Rural Association of Paraguay, criticised this as "punishment by example" for the cattle owner.

Officials said last year that a botched vaccine intended to protect Paraguay's livestock against FMD was responsible for transmitting the ailment to hundreds of animals. The outbreak prompted neighbouring countries to ban the import of Paraguayan meat, livestock and meat by-products to prevent the spread of the disease across international boundaries. The agriculture ministers from six South American countries agreed in November to make the eradication of FMD a regional priority.