Bahia prepares for the latest vaccination campaign against foot-and-mouth disease

A The last vaccination campaign against foot-and-mouth disease in Bahia was brought forward to the period from April 1st to 30th and will be a historic milestone in the state’s agricultural defense. The stage marks the end of 146 cycles of immunization of cattle and buffalo herds, estimated at around 13 million heads throughout Bahia, ranking 7th in the national ranking. Since 1968, producers have been vaccinating their herds in Bahia and in the last 20 years, vaccination rates have been above the 90% required by the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock (Mapa).

For this last historic stage, the expectation of the Bahia Agricultural Defense Agency (Adab) is to vaccinate 100% of the cattle and buffalo herds. Producers will have until May 17th to declare vaccination and inform the geolocation of properties on the website www.adab.ba.gov.br or at one of the agency’s 376 offices in the 27 Identity Territories.

The joint effort between the productive sector and Adab, combined with the evolution of the state agricultural defense system, made it possible for Mapa to endorse the suspension of vaccination from May 2024, with a score of 9.3, the highest among 17 states in the Federation .

“This will result in direct savings of approximately R$100 million per year in costs for purchasing vaccines, herd management, in addition to other benefits with the expansion of the agro-industrial park and adding value to exports with the opening of new markets”, highlights the general director of Adab, Paulo Sérgio Luz, highlighting that the support of the productive sector in this latest campaign will be extremely important to vaccinate 100% of the herd.

Free zone without vaccination

Even before the start of the latest vaccination campaign against foot-and-mouth disease, Adab teams are already carrying out serological surveillance, aiming to demonstrate the absence of the foot-and-mouth disease virus in Bahia. The action forms part of the Surveillance Plan of the National Foot-and-Mouth Disease Surveillance Program (PNEFA), for the year 2024, whose main objective is to prove that Bahia is capable of applying for International Certification of a Foot-and-Mouth Disease Free Zone Without Vaccination.

The Plan is aligned with the Terrestrial Animal Health Code of the World Organization for Animal Health (OMSA) and with the guidelines of the Hemispheric Program for the Eradication of Foot and Mouth Disease (PHEFA), whose goal is to eradicate the disease in South America and suspend, gradually, vaccination against Foot and Mouth Disease throughout the Brazilian territory.

“The serology that we started in March is an essential activity to assess the risk of diseases such as Foot and Mouth Disease in animal populations. The work will be completed in June and will follow all the steps recommended in the Serological Guide of the Ministry of Agriculture”, explains Adab veterinarian and PNEFA-Ba Coordinator, José Neder. According to him, the sample size for the seroepidemiological study was estimated to detect the transmission of the foot-and-mouth disease virus in the proposed areas, with a confidence level of 95%.

Properties with cattle aged 6 to 24 months, at higher risk and with a greater number of movements were defined as locations for serology, in order to increase the sensitivity of the study. Some farms are randomly selected, based on registered data sent by the states to the Department of Animal Health.

History

Bahia was one of the pioneering states in implementing the program against foot-and-mouth disease in Brazil. It all started on February 28, 1968, when Bahia created Gerfab (Executive Group for the Eradication of Foot and Mouth Disease in Bahia). Then came the Bahia Biological Institute (IBB), the Bahia Agricultural Development Company (EBDA) and the Department of Agricultural Defense (DDA).

In the first decade of campaigns, there was a great increase in numbers. In 1979, producers vaccinated more than 5.7 million animals. In the 1990s, the fight against foot-and-mouth disease intensified throughout the country, under the guidance of Mapa and in Bahia, the participation of producers was fundamental. The last outbreak of the disease registered in the state was in 1997, in the municipality of Jussari.

At the beginning of the 2000s, several initiatives stood out: the serological testing process to prove the absence of the virus in susceptible herds, the creation of the Bahia Buffer Zone and the Bahia State Livestock Support Fund (Fundap). With this, in May 2001, Bahia achieved its first major achievement, achieving the International Certification of Foot-and-Mouth Free State with Vaccination.

From 2010 onwards, Adab carried out six consecutive serologies, all with good results. 42 sanitary barriers were created, reorganized and re-equipped.

“Hundreds of susceptible animals without adequate documentation were euthanized. Herds, properties and producers were registered and then this registration was digitized. And we also implemented the Electronic Animal Transit Guide Issuance System (GTA)”, recalls Adab veterinarian Valentin Fidalgo, who followed the entire history of combating Foot and Mouth Disease in Bahia, since he was a student at the Federal University of Bahia. and works at Adab to this day.

Structure

With 172 veterinarians in the areas of animal health defense and inspection, in addition to 376 municipal breeder service offices, Adab is present in almost all cities, providing the Official Veterinary Service. Around 480 thousand GTA’s are issued per year and there are already 400 thousand rural properties registered and geolocated. Throughout the state, there are more than 1,000 points authorized to sell vaccines and other livestock products.

“Now, we are ready to receive the International Certificate of Foot and Mouth Disease Free Zone Without Vaccination to strengthen animal protein production in Bahia, with guarantees of further development and future for all our people”, concludes the director of Animal Health Defense, Carlos Augusto Spínola.

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