Foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) is a serious viral disease that affects livestock, including cattle, swine, and other cloven-hoofed ruminants. It is highly contagious and has significant socioeconomic consequences, with annual losses estimated at more than US$20 billion in affected countries. In countries that are free of FMD, a reintroduction of the disease could result in losses exceeding US$8 billion. In addition to its substantial economic impact, foot-and-mouth disease is associated with serious social consequences, particularly for the most vulnerable populations.
Countries affected by foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) experience significant economic losses due to reduced meat and milk production and the depreciation of animal products in international markets, creating major barriers to their economic and social development. This underscores the importance of the efforts undertaken by affected countries within the framework of the Hemispheric Program for the Eradication of Foot-and-Mouth Disease (PHEFA) to achieve the eradication of the disease.
Foot-and-mouth disease belongs to the complex vesicular diseases, which also includes vesicular stomatitis (VS), swine vesicular disease (SVD), and vesicular exanthema of swine (VES). These diseases share the characteristic of producing typical vesicular lesions in susceptible animal species, consisting of fluid-filled blisters with a whitish epithelial covering containing clear or slightly blood-tinged fluid. Because the clinical signs and symptoms of these diseases are very similar to one another and to those of other diseases with comparable presentations, a definitive diagnosis must always be based on specific laboratory diagnostic tests, supported by a thorough epidemiological investigation and trace-back analysis.
The Pan American Foot-and-Mouth Disease and Veterinary Public Health Center (PANAFTOSA/SPV) is a specialized center of the Pan American Health Organization/World Health Organization (PAHO/WHO), linked to the Department of Prevention, Control and Elimination of Communicable Diseases (CDE).
PANAFTOSA is responsible for coordinating the Veterinary Public Health Program, providing technical cooperation in the prevention, surveillance, control, and elimination of zoonoses; the promotion of initiatives to strengthen food safety systems; and the eradication of foot-and-mouth disease, with the aim of promoting public health and regional socioeconomic development.
In 1951, the countries of the Organization of American States requested support from the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) to combat foot-and-mouth disease in the continent. Since then, PANAFTOSA/VPH has promoted sustained technical cooperation with the countries of the Americas, with the aim of developing and strengthening national and regional initiatives to eradicate, prevent, and prepare for a possible reintroduction of the disease.
- Evaluation of national surveillance, eradication, prevention, and emergency preparedness systems, including the development or revision of contingency plans.
- Evaluation of the legal and technical framework, including the production of manuals or guidelines.
- Training, including emergency training and simulation exercises.
- Laboratory support for the development and improvement of diagnostic kits, laboratory diagnostic techniques, and vaccine quality control testing.
- Regional cooperation – Coordination of the Hemispheric Program for the Eradication of Foot-and-Mouth Disease (PHEFA) and technical and managerial support in regional discussion forums such as the South American Commission for the Fight Against Foot-and-Mouth Disease (COSALFA) and the Hemispheric Committee for the Eradication of Foot-and-Mouth Disease (COHEFA), together with regional support actions for countries such as the Regional Foot-and-Mouth Disease Antigen Bank (BANVACO), the Regional Commission for Monitoring the National Plan for the Eradication of Foot-and-Mouth Disease in Venezuela (PROFA), and the Regional Commission on Biological Risk Management and Biosafety.
Although foot-and-mouth disease is not a direct public health risk, due to its social and economic impact on human populations it is a concern for all affected and disease-free countries. In this regard, foot-and-mouth disease is included in the PAHO Elimination Initiative, which aims to eliminate 30 diseases by 2030 in the Americas.
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