COLOMBIA: Health Authority Confirms End Of Foot-and-mouth Disease Outbreak

(RTTNews) - The Colombian Agricultural and Livestock Institute (ICA) reported that the foot-and-mouth disease outbreak that occurred in the country has ended.

Colombia's ICA confirmed that 3,325 livestock slaughterings occurred in the municipalities of Tame, Arauca, Yacopí and Tibacuy in the department (state) of Cundinamarca and also in the rural area of Cúcuta, near the border with Venezuela. According to a statement, all sources of infection were effectively terminated, reducing the transmission risk of foot-and-mouth disease by a high percentage.

So far, ICA has analyzed 4,000 out of 12,000 laboratory samples collected in the mentioned municipalities and which results have ruled out the virus.

Colombia's Minister of Agriculture Aurelio Iragorri said that the country will send a notification to the World Organization for Animal Health in 28 days - or the equivalent of two incubation cycles of the virus. A week after being notified, the entity should determine if Colombia will once more be considered as a territory free of foot-and-mouth disease by vaccination.

At the end of June, ICA detected outbreaks of foot-and-mouth disease in the country, the first since 2009, causing several countries in the region to suspend their imports of Colombian beef.