Georgetown : Guyana, certified Foot and Mouth Disease free in 2011 by the World Organisation for Animal Health, continues to successfully maintain this status through an active surveillance programme, Minister of Agriculture, Dr. Leslie Ramsammy said.
Speaking on a recent “Ministers Forum’ aired on the National Communications Network (NCN), Minister Ramsammy explained that this active surveillance programme has enabled Guyana to build a very protective mechanism as it relates to controlling and keeping off the disease from cattle.
The surveillance programme engages the assistance of all the stakeholders, who are asked to be on daily alert for the disease. Local veterinarians are also employed to conducted random spot checks where there are cattle and look for the signs of the disease. In some instances this may entail blood specimens testing.
Minister Ramsammy explained that this is done to ensure that the disease, though not visible, is not circulating among Guyana’s cattle. The usual signs of the disease are high fever in the animal and sores and blisters around the mouth. It also causes the animal to go lame and into a state of paralysis which eventually leads to death.
Minister Ramsammy reported that just recently Guyana would have verified its Foot and Mouth Disease free status with surveillance studies conducted. As part of the surveillance, blood specimen from 825 animals across the country were collected during December 2011 and February 2012 and sent for testing at the Pan American Center for Foot and Mouth Disease (PANAFTOSA) in Brazil. It is one of nine specialised centres of PAHO.
Minister Ramsammy explained that the farmers are taught the symptoms of the diseases signs and are advised to notify the ministry if they suspect their herd is affected.
The rule of law, placed at abattoirs and which states that before an animal is slaughtered it is inspected by a vet or an animal health or public health official, also aided the surveillance programme, Minister Ramsammy said. The meat is also stamped post slaughter to verify it is healthy.
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