MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Paraguay recovers full status of free of foot and mouth disease with vaccination

The country has over 12 million head of cattle

Paraguay recovered full status of “country free of foot and mouth disease with vaccination” following the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) decision to lift the “high vigilance zone” over 1.2 million cattle.

This means that the whole of Paraguay’s national herd, (11.2 million plus the 1.2 million) come under the status of free of FMD with vaccination which the country partially lost in 2007.

“Dr. Bernard Vallat, director general of the World Organization for Animal Health addressed a communiqué saying it approves Paraguay’s request to lift the “high vigilance zone” condition of Paraguayan territory”, revealed on Friday Daniel Rojas head of the country’s animal health and food quality department, Senacsa.

“With this fresh and great news for Paraguay we have resumed our free of FMD with vaccination status”, underlined Rojas.

The Paraguayan veterinary official said the decision does not mean the end of vaccination campaigns but rather that as of February 4, sanitary barriers for the export of live cattle have been lifted.

Rojas underlined the significance of the event and thanked cattle farmers, particularly those in border areas, for their collaboration in keeping and abiding by the OIE strict control measures.

The area under the OIE “high vigilance” also includes parts of Argentina, Bolivia and Brazil but Rojas said he ignored what had been the process in the neighbouring countries and if they had managed to recover the original status.

Rojas said that as a result of the new status, live cattle sales will be more expedite and “won’t have to undergo the 15 days quarantine before they could be dispatched; now the observation period is over”.

Landlocked Paraguay rich in energy and agriculture is among the world’s main exporters of beef and soybeans. Meat exports in 2010 totalled over one billion US dollars.