September 6, 2022

Foot-and-mouth disease nearly eliminated in South America

The Pan American Health Association (PAHO) said South America is close to eliminating foot-and-mouth disease (FMD), with almost 99% of cattle in the region free from the disease, PAHO reported.

Significant progress has been made in the last ten years: While 85% of South American cattle were deemed FMD-free (with or without vaccination) by the World Organization for Animal Health (WOAH) in 2010, this percentage increased to 98.6% by 2020. By 2025, the subregion hopes to have eradicated the disease.

Ottorino Cosivi, Director of the Pan American Center for Foot and Mouth Disease (Panaftosa) of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), based in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, said that the prevention, surveillance, and control measures implemented by countries, including vaccination of livestock, early detection, and swift control of outbreaks, have contributed to progress towards the eradication of FMD in South America.

For more than ten years, the vast majority of South American nations have been free of foot-and-mouth disease. The most recent outbreaks of the disease were in Colombia in 2017 and 2018, and it is likely that they were brought in illegally at the country's border with Venezuela. Although Venezuela has not reported any new cases of FMD since 2013, it has not yet proclaimed itself free of the disease and has not ruled out viral transmission in its herd of cattle. With vaccination, Colombia was once more deemed free of FMD in 2020.

Representatives from the public and private sectors from the 12 South American nations and Panama, working under the PAHO/Panaftosa secretariat, discussed the 2021–2025 Action Plan of the Hemispheric Foot and Mouth Disease Eradication Program (PHEFA) during the 49th meeting of the South American Commission for the Fight Against Foot-and-Mouth Disease (COSALFA) and vowed to keep working toward eradication.

With the support of PAHO/Panaftosa, the South American Commission for the Fight against Foot-and-Mouth Disease approved three resolutions to maintain and strengthen cooperation with Venezuela, follow up on the formation of the BANVACO, and promote training so that nations in the region are ready for potential foot-and-mouth emergencies.

Representatives from WOAH, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the Andean Community (CAN), the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA), the International Regional Organization for Animal and Plant Health (OIRSA), and the Permanent Veterinary Committee of Conosur (CVP) also attended the COSALFA meeting (FAO).

In order to eradicate foot-and-mouth disease and improve livestock production and availability of animal products, such as meat and milk, with a strong positive impact on human health, Panaftosa, a PAHO centre, collaborates with countries in the Americas. In addition, Panaftosa offers assistance in preventing and lowering the risk of zoonoses, or diseases that can spread through contaminated food, from infecting humans.

-      Pan American Health Association