At the beginning of October the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Supply (MAPA), together with governmental bodies responsible for animal health at state level, launched the second phase of the vaccination campaign against foot-and-mouth disease. The first phase took place between March and May.

The Government anticipates that 395 million doses of vaccine will have been applied to Brazil’s bovines and bubalines – numbering 201.4 million – by the end of the year.

The only foot-and-mouth vaccines that can be sold and used in Brazil are those registered with and controlled by MAPA. The application of the vaccines is the responsibility of the farmers, but the Government monitors the process and provides orientation.

This month, bovines and bubalines in the states of Alagoas, Ceará, Paraíba, Pernambuco, Rio Grande do Norte and Roraima are being vaccinated. In November it will be the turn of the herds in the Federal District, Acre, Amapá, Amazonas, Goiás, Maranhão, Mato Grosso, Mato Grosso do Sul, Minas Gerais, Pará, Paraná, Piauí, Rondônia, São Paulo, Sergipe and Tocantins.

The only state not vaccinating its herds is Santa Catarina, which in May was recognized by the World Organization for Animal Health as an area free from foot-and-mouth disease.

Brazil has become the world’s biggest exporter of beef, selling to more than 140 countries. Beef exports in 2007 have so far totalled more than US$10bn.

Source: Office of the President and Embassy of Brazil in London