EU cautious over Brazilian moves on foot and mouth

A GREAT effort has been made by Brazilian authorities to control foot and mouth, and the absence of suspected new cases since November may indicate the disease has been controlled, according to the EU’s Food and Veterinary Office.

But there are shortcomings, and it cannot be excluded that the foot and mouth virus is still circulating in two states, according to the just published final report of an EU veterinary inspection tour which took place 10 months ago.

“This may also be the case for holdings in other states which received live cattle during the risk period,” said inspectors.

They made 11 recommendations to the Brazilian authorities, and requested details of a plan to put these recommendations into action, and requested regular progress reports.

Recommendations included improvements to animal identification and movement control, and vaccination efficacy checks.

Inspectors will check that recommendations have been taken on board during the Food and Veterinary Office’s next animal and public health mission to Brazil, scheduled for the early part of next year.

The EU continues to ban beef from three states in Brazil. Nevertheless, the Netherlands and Italy are among countries which have increased their Brazilian beef imports.

For the January to November period, Brazil’s total fresh beef exports rose 10% to 1.6 million tons, and processed beef exports rose 15.7%. Brazil’s top markets for fresh beef continue to be emerging markets like Russia and Egypt, followed by the EU.