DA intensifies vaccination vs FMD

The Department of Agriculture (DA) on Sunday that is now intensifying hog vaccination in three regions in Luzon that are prone to the Foot-and-Mouth Disease (FMD) as the government aims to make the Philippines an FMD-free country next year. In a report to Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap, the Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI) said that applying for an FMD-free status in January will enable the Office Internationale des Epizooties or Animal Health Organization to vote on this would-be formal application when the OIE holds its general assembly in May 2008. BAI Officer-in-Charge Dave Catbagan said the bureau has launched a vaccination campaign in Metro Manila, Central Luzon and the provinces of Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal and Quezon in the Calabarzon (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal and Quezon) growth corridor. He said the drive is in tandem with the Hog Raisers Association and the local government units (LGUs) as part of the ongoing measures to seal the Philippines’ application for an FMD-free status before the OIE. Catbagan said that so far, a total of 57,910 vaccines have already been distributed to these regions to keep them FMD-free. He pointed out that the recent hog cholera outbreak would have no impact on the Philippines’ application for FMD-free status considering that the disease had been confined to only a few backyard farms in Bulacan and Pampanga. According to Catbagan, the outbreak was also immediately contained within a weeks’ time as a result of the DA’s swift response to the problem. Earlier, Yap had noted that a declaration, instead of a mere recognition, by the OIE that the Philippines is totally FMD-free, will give a boost to Philippine exports of processed pork and lower production costs for the local hog industry, given the steep cost of anti-FMD vaccines and other related expenses needed to maintain ideal herd health. He had said that if the Philippines can keep its FMD-free status for good, government resources can be re-channeled to programs covering the control of other diseases that threaten animal and human health. If Luzon maintains its free-zone status, the OIE might declare the Philippines FMD free by May next year. The Philippines has been completely FMD-free since January last year, the first time in 10 years that the country has been free of the disease that has been detected locally as early as the 1800’s. As of 2001, Catbagan said the OIE had already recognized, but not declared, the entire Mindanao, Visayas, Palawan and Masbate as FMD-free zones, making these areas eligible for exporting pork items, but subject to the other requirements set by importing countries. Cagayan Valley, Bicol and the Mimaropa provinces—Occidental Mindoro, Oriental Mindoro, Marinduque, Romblon and Palawan—were declared locally by the DA as free areas without vaccination in 2004, he said. Catbagan said the Cordillera Administrative Region achieved its local free-zone status without vaccination in 2006 while the Ilocos Region was declared a free zone with vaccination in 2005. He added that the rest of the Luzon provinces were declared protected areas last year. The BAI has been implementing an array of measures to keep the Philippines FMD-free. A BAI-led FMD Task Force reported last December a 67% reduction rate in outbreaks in 2005 compared to 2004 levels, following an intensive campaign via the “progressive zoning approach." This task force has been working with an array of agencies like the DA regional field units, the Livestock Development Council, National Meat Inspection Service, LGUs and the Philippine National Police (PNP), in this anti-FMD campaign. - GMANews.TV