Jun 10, 2010
Ranchers in Brazil Want to Eliminate Vaccinations for Foot and Mouth Disease
Author: Michael Cordonnier/Soybean & Corn Advisor, Inc.
In Brazil, if foot and mouth disease has not been found in the cattle herd of a particular state for more than 14 years, the state has the right to petition the Minister of Agriculture to eliminate the requirement that all the cattle in the state be vaccinated twice a year against the disease. The cattle herds in three Brazilian states, Parana, Santa Catarina, and Mato Grosso meet those requirements and as a result, officials in these three states are contemplating just such a move.
Mato Grosso has the largest cattle herd in Brazil and no foot and mouth has been reported in the state for over 14 years. The Mato Grosso Federation of Agriculture (Famato) is preparing to petition the Minister of Agriculture to declare the state free of the disease and thus eliminate the need for the twice yearly vaccinations. The annual cost of the continuing the vaccinations in the state is estimated at R$ 50 million. In addition to eliminating the cost of the vaccinations, if a state has been declared free of the disease and the cattle are no longer vaccinated, the beef can be sold in a wider range of foreign markets and for a higher price.
Not everyone agrees with the desire to eliminate the vaccinations. The Association of rural Property Owners in Mato Grosso (ARP) feels that these discussions are premature because the state does not have the resources or programs in place to monitor its border with Bolivia. The border between the two countries is virtually open especially in remote rural areas where cattle can easily wonder across the border. The sanitary requirements in Bolivia are not as strict as they are in Brazil and the last case of foot and mouth disease was recorded just a few years ago in 2007 in the province of Santa Cruz de la Sierra.
The ARP organization feels the state should wait at least five years after the last recorded case of the disease in Bolivia before they even start discussing eliminating the vaccination program. They feel that a new case of the disease in the state could undermine all the advances they have made over the last two decades to control the disease. In addition to bordering Bolivia, Mato Grosso also borders the states of Rondonia, Amazonas, and Para and only Amazonas is considered free of foot and mouth disease.
Potentially contaminated cattle that could wonder across the border are a legitimate concern in Brazil. In mid-2000, foot and mouth disease was discovered on ranchers in Mato Grosso do Sul that were on the border with Paraguay. Tens of thousands of cattle had to be destroyed, but the source of the disease was never established. It was suspected that contaminated cattle from Paraguay, where sanitary requirements are much less stringent than in Brazil, were the source of the infection.
The case for eliminating the vaccinations in southern Brazil is much stronger. The states of Parana and Santa Catarina do not border either Paraguay or Bolivia and Santa Catarina has only a short border with Argentina, but the Uruguay River forms the border.