Control of foot and mouth disease: the experience of the Americas

Foot and mouth disease (FMD) was first recognised in South America in 1870, almost simultaneously in the province of Buenos Aires (Argentina), in the central region of Chile, in Uruguay, in southern Brazil and coincidentally, on the northeastern coast of the United States of America. The epidemiology of the disease was unknown and no government action was taken following the initial outbreaks. This resulted in the disease spreading to other areas of Chile, as well as to Peru, Bolivia and Paraguay, reaching Venezuela and Colombia in the 1950s, and Ecuador in 1961. The entire continent was affected in the 1960s when national FMD control programmes were initiated, with the exception of Guyana, Surinam, French Guiana and Patagonia. In the 1970s, steps were taken to implement a regional control and eradication strategy in view of the impact of production and trade on the persistence of the virus. The Plan Hemisférico de Erradicación de la Fiebre Aftosa (PHEFA: Hemispheric FMD Eradication Plan), public- and private-sector policies, new diagnostic tools, the oil-adjuvanted FMD vaccine and regional strategies played a part in improving the epidemiological situation during the 1990s. A setback was encountered in 2000 and 2001, with outbreaks due to virus types A and 0 recorded in Argentina, Uruguay and Brazil.