Battling Foot-and-Mouth on Brazil's Amazon

It may be the last place to look for sick cattle, but animal health experts in Brazil have taken to the waters of the mighty Amazon to fight one of the region's age-old foes: foot-and-mouth disease.

The Tucuxi ("River Dolphin") has been sailing the lower Amazon and its tributaries to spread the word among locals about what needs to be done to eliminate febre aftosa, or foot-and-mouth disease, from their region by the end of 2009.

The disease has been eradicated or eliminated through vaccination in much of Brazil and other South American countries. Yet the lower Amazon remains one of the region's highrisk areas.

The Tucuxi is a pilot project that forms part of "Brazil Free from Foot-and-Mouth," a plan launched by Brazil's Ministry of Food and Agriculture late last year to promote vaccination and raise awareness of the connection between improving animal sanitation, eradicating the disease and generating local employment and income.

Brazil's efforts, in turn, are part of an ongoing hemispheric drive to eradicate the disease, spearheaded by the Pan American Foot and Mouth Disease Center (Panaftosa), one of nine scientific and technical centers of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO).

A kind of floating schoolhouse, the Tucuxi has as its main audience primary school children, but it also reaches out to livestock farmers, community leaders and local authorities.

The Tucuxi has sailed the Amazon and its tributaries, visiting 15 communities in the Brazilian state of Pará. The banner reads: "Pará fights foot-and-mouth disease with health education."

The boat's "school teachers" are five experts on animal sanitation and veterinary public health. They have been sailing up and down the region's waterways to take their message to 15 communities during the project's pilot phase. "Classes" consist of talks on vaccines and their administration, how to detect foot-and-mouth disease, how to prevent it from spreading, and tips on cattlerearing methods.

The Tucuxi has also ferried folkloric performers to shows for local audiences along its route. The Ministry of Food and Agriculture has partnered with Banco da Amazônia, Banco do Brasil, the Lutheran University of Brazil (Ulbra) and the Rural Federal University of Pará, among others, to mount expositions on foot-and-mouth in a number of town central squares.

In Santarém and Monte Alegre—where the pilot project was launched—students, members of the army and the navy, livestock farmers, local residents and community leaders have received educational information through the campaign.

Pará state was chosen for the project's launch because it has the largest herd in the region, with 15 million cattle and buffalo, and is particularly vulnerable to foot-and-mouth disease. By the end of December, the project had provided information and prevention services to cover more than 1.1 million animals, according to Adinor Batista dos Santos, president of the rural union in Santarém, the boat's final destination.

School children listen to messages about foot-and-mouth disease during a class on Brazil’s floating schoolhouse, the Tucuxi. The pilot project is part of a hemispheric effort to eradicate foot-and-mouth disease, spearheaded by the Pan American Foot and Mouth Disease Center (Panaftosa), one of nine technical and scientific centers of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO).

Foot-and-mouth is a highly contagious disease caused by a virus that can infect cattle, buffalo, goats, and swine. The disease causes weight loss—often as much as 20 percent in affected animals—reductions in milk production, and in many cases, infertility.

The death rate among adult animals is only 3 percent, but among young animals mortality is closer to 50 percent. Calves are highly vulnerable, with death rates reaching up to 85 percent. Foot-and-mouth also makes animals more susceptible to other diseases.

After the initial phase of the pilot project, the boat's itinerary includes 13 other municipalities in the southern and central Amazon regions to mobilize awareness of foot-and-mouth disease. The government's aim is to vaccinate 90 percent of the herd in the region and reduce the area's designation from high risk to medium risk in the short term, while working toward elimination by 2009.

Brazil, Latin America's largest country, is the world's largest exporter of beef. In 2004, the country exported some 1.6 million tons of beef, worth an estimated $2.2 billion. By eliminating foot-and-mouth disease, the country hopes to boost its sales of highquality meat for both domestic consumption and export, producing financial benefits for the country as a whole as well as increased employment and income generation at the local level.