FMD outbreak on Colombia-Venezuela border
12/06/2008
The Colombian Institute of Agriculture and Husbandry (ICA) has declared a state of sanitary emergency in the Santander department on the border with Venezuela where an foot and mouth disease (FMD) outbreak has been detected. This part of Colombia’s is home to one of the country’s most important concentration of tanneries and footwear and leathergoods manufacturing.
Andrés Valencia, general manager of ICA said that sanitary controls had been put in place to prevent the disease from spreading beyond the immediate vicinity of the outbreak, the Cúcuta district. The area affected is located outside the region that the government is trying to have certified as FMD-free.
The ICA has set up control points at strategic locations, is making sure that vehicles are disinfected and that quarantine regulations are complied with. Cattle blood samples are being tested and the police and other bodies have been summoned to help control the situation, especially the illegal entry of animals from Venezuela.
Colombia has invested $100 million since 1980 to eradicate FMD; 73% of the country’s territory and 75% of its herd are now internationally recognised as FMD-free.
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