MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Foot and mouth vaccination

Beginning this week eleven million head of cattle will be vaccinated in Argentina against foot and mouth disease in an attempt to reinforce measures against any further outbreaks as happened last August.

However, United States and Canada have confirmed they will keep their markets open to Argentine boneless fresh beef. Argentine officials underlined that the quick reaction prevented Nafta members (United States, Canada and Mexico) from closing their markets to Argentine beef. Nafta represents 25% of Argentine exports.

"The American authorities decision confirms that the Argentine sanitary condition is under control and does not affect beef exports", indicated this week in Buenos Aires, Argentina's Secretary of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries, Mr. Antonio Berhongaray.

According to Mr. Eduardo Greco, vicepresident of the Argentine Agro-Food Sanitary Service, SENASA, and currently in Washington explaining the plan to US sanitary officials, "vaccination will concentrate in the northern border areas of the country and in the Buenos Aires, Santa Fé, Córdoba and La Pampa provinces, where most of the cattle is fattened".

Argentina last week reported the revaccination program of 20% of its livestock to the Paris based International Epizooties Office that certifies sanitary conditions and extends the foot and mouth certification. It was jointly agreed to qualify Argentina as free of foot and mouth disease, with vaccination.

In Buenos Aires, reliable sources confirmed that SENASA had officially began legal actions against several farmers along the border suspected of smuggling from Paraguay cattle infected with the foot and mouth A24 strain which is "exotic" to Argentina.

A "secret" SENASA report on the foot and mouth last August outbreak and leaked to the press, indicates that at least 70 farmers could be involved plus regional SENASA staff who apparently were accomplices of the smuggling operation.

The latest livestock census showed Argentina has 48,7 million head of cattle, 77% in the Pampa area, 15% in the northeast and 8% distributed in the rest of the country. The number has been relatively stable for the last three years.