Uruguay joins regional vaccine reserve network to bolster foot and mouth disease preparedness

Uruguay formalises its membership of BANVACO, enhancing regional coordination and rapid response capabilities against foot and mouth disease amid its long-standing disease-free status.

Uruguay has moved to deepen its defences against foot and mouth disease by formalising permanent membership of the Regional Bank of Antigens and Vaccines against Foot and Mouth Disease, known as BANVACO. The agreement, signed by the Ministry of Livestock, Agriculture and Fisheries through its General Directorate of Livestock Services, gives the country faster access to emergency vaccines if an outbreak threatens its herd health or export position.

According to the Pan American Health Organization, BANVACO is coordinated by PANAFTOSA and works through antigen reserves that can be turned into emergency vaccines. Uruguay is the fourth country to join, alongside Brazil, Ecuador and Paraguay.

At the signing in Montevideo, officials stressed that the value of the mechanism lies not only in vaccine supply but in regional coordination and preparedness. Uruguay’s livestock authorities said the move reflects the country’s long-standing disease-free status, now stretching beyond 25 years, and the need to keep response systems sharp despite a generation with little direct experience of an outbreak.

The agreement was concluded during a workshop on protecting sanitary status and markets, organised with the National Meat Institute and the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture, and attended by PANAFTOSA and the World Organisation for Animal Health. The exercise examined decision-making, market impacts and emergency response tools.

Source: Noah Wire Services

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