The state of São Paulo will become a foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) free zone without vaccination shortly after the next immunization phase, scheduled for November, according to the Agriculture Ministry. Seven states and the Federal District will now enjoy this status, bringing Brazil closer to its plans to extend this FMD-free zone to the entire country by 2026.
The news, celebrated by the São Paulo state government and industry associations, provides important validation in negotiations with current and potential importers of Brazilian protein. For them, the benefits of such certification would outweigh the risks involved.
Brazil intends to submit an application to the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) in August 2024, seeking recognition as being free of foot-and-mouth without the need for vaccination. The outcome of the request will be announced in May 2025, followed by a 12-month period during which production areas would remain without immunization and isolated from newly vaccinated animals.
This plan requires the control of the circulation of animals throughout Brazil. From May 1, 2024, animals from FMD-free zones with vaccination — such as the states of Roraima, Pará, Amapá, Maranhão, Piauí, Ceará, Pernambuco, Paraíba, Alagoas, Sergipe, Bahia, Rio de Janeiro, and part of Amazonas — will not be allowed to enter states where vaccination has already been suspended.
It also requires that producers continue to follow all sanitary protocols despite the end of mandatory foot-and-mouth vaccination — something some experts say could be a problem. “Traditionally, when ranchers vaccinate cattle for FMD twice a year, they concentrate the animals in one place and go through the entire health protocol, examining the animals and seeing what other vaccines and treatments are needed. If they no longer have that requirement, will they continue to follow the proper health protocols? How will this affect productivity? State governments need to be aware of this, more than ever if the country is recognized as FMD-free without vaccination,” warns Thiago Bernardino Carvalho, researcher...
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