Animal Health Body Declares Brazilian Region Free Of Foot-And-Mouth
BRAZIL - Officials from the World Animal Health Organization have declared the Brazilian state of Santa Catarina free of the foot-and-mouth disease, a meat industry official said on Tuesday.Pedro Camargo, president of Brazil's Pork Exporters' Association, told Brazilian media after attending the world body's annual meeting in Paris that the body had made an official announcement there.
Santa Catarina is the nation's largest pork-producing state and the first Brazilian state to be rated free of the disease. The announcement has paved the way for the state to resume exports.
Foot-and-mouth outbreaks began in the Brazilian states of Mato Grosso do Sul and Parana in 2005, and several countries have banned Brazilian meat imports.
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