The globalization of trade was
linked to the globalization of foot and-mouth diseases
(FMD) by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization
(FAO) today during the "Ministerial meeting
on the Experiences of FMD" at its 31st session
being held in Rome, Italy.
The
FAO looked at the recent outbreak of the aggressive
'Pan Asian' strain in the UK as an example of how quickly
the disease can spread. Officials said the strain in
the UK was most likely caused by the feeding of pigs
with contaminated swill. The virus then spread from
the UK to Ireland, France and the Netherlands through
livestock trade, eventually causing 4 million animals
to be slaughtered in eradication efforts.
FAO Director-General Dr. Jacques Diouf acknowledged
the highly contagious nature of the disease and
warned countries that contingency planning for
emergencies, and strengthening of border controls
and of commodity inspections would simply not be
enough to manage the risks of the international
spread of FMD.
"It is possible to drastically reduce the
risk of such terrible animal diseases as FMD," Dr.
Diouf said. " For animal diseases, however,
we need a system similar to the one already developed
by the FAO for food crops: a Global Information
and Early Warning System for transboundary animal
diseases which takes account of the official reporting
of the Office International des Epizooties (OIE),
disease investigations, epidemiological and laboratory
studies in the countries to improve international
early warning," he said.
The meeting discussed recent major FMD outbreaks
in areas around the world, including in Latin America,
which had made remarkable progress in clearing
FMD from the Mercosur countries only to see that
progress reversed in 2000/2001 by the explosion
of outbreaks caused by two different viruses in
Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay.
"With the increasing globalization, the potential
is there that different FMD types could spread
widely from their natural habitats in developing
countries, unless effective control measures are
put into place at source, where they are endemic," Dr.
Diouf said.
The FAO called upon industrialized countries to
develop a global plan to contain and progressively
control FMD in developing countries. In addition,
the FAO suggested strengthening veterinary services
in these countries as a way to reduce the impact
of epidemic animal diseases on agriculture, trade
and food security.
The FAO identified systematic vaccination as the
most realistic option at the present time.
The 31st session of the FAO is being held until
November 13.
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