Foot-And-Mouth Disease Eradication Urged By Governments, Private Sector
Houston, Texas, March 3, 2004 (PAHO)—A final push towards the eradication of foot-and-mouth disease from the Western Hemisphere is being urged by a variety of government and private sector officials who opened a hemispheric conference on the topic here today.
More than 150 animal health experts, government officials, and food producers today heard Pan American Health Organization Director Dr. Mirta Roses urge that final push. "Together, we can eradicate the scourge of Foot and Mouth Disease, which has caused so much damage to the cattle industry and has hurt the socioeconomic development of our countries, from our continent. It is still a risk for areas that have been free of the disease and for those working toward that condition," she said.
"Diseases know no political division and for diverse reasons our borders are becoming more vulnerable to disease," PAHO's director added. "Recent outbreaks of diseases such as West Nile virus", SARS, and Avian influenza clearly demonstrate that no country is immune against emerging or reemerging diseases, which can rapidly pass between countries and continents. We need to strengthen mechanisms of consultation and interchange between public health and animal health services, using modern technology."
Dr. James Butler, deputy undersecretary of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, who spoke on behalf of Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman, told the opening session that "This Conference takes place at a critical juncture in history in the control and eradication of Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD). I have great expectations that participants will leave Houston with an action oriented commitment to eliminate FMD from the Western Hemisphere." Butler said an outbreak of FMD in the United States would have adverse impacts here and abroad, "resulting in jobs lost at home and abroad in the shipping, processing and distribution industries" and unstable prices for many years. "Hence, FMD anywhere in the Western Hemisphere is a situation that concerns us all."
Brazil's Minister of Agriculture, Dr. Roberto Rodrigues, said "We are stuck in the fight against FMD. It is now time to go beyond the speeches; it is time for transparency and political well. We are all brothers in the fight against this disease and if one of us loses we all lose."
Foot-and-mouth disease is a highly contagious and economically devastating disease of ruminants and swine, dreaded by livestock owners because it spreads quickly and widely, and because has grave economic costs.
The objectives of the Houston conference, being held at the Crowne Plaza Medical Center, are to develop a strategic approach to eradicate FMD from the Western Hemisphere, identifying the roles of the private and public sectors and promoting effective, independent evaluation and support for the progress towards eradication of FMD from the Western Hemisphere.
An information session on Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) – better known as "mad cow disease" is planned Thursday after the Houston conference, with officials from PAHO, the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation in Agriculture, and global experts such as Dr. Paul Brown of the National Institutes of Health.
Mad-cow disease is a chronic, degenerative disorder affecting the central nervous system of cattle that has been associated with a similar, also fatal ailment in humans. The risk of BSE being introduced into the region is real mainly because if the liberalization of international trade.
PAHO was established in 1902 and is the world’s oldest public health organization. PAHO works with all the countries of the Americas to improve the health and the quality of life of people of the Americas. It serves as the Regional Office for the Americas of the World Health Organization (WHO).
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