Podcast: How is better prevention of FMD being enabled?

09:27 AM | November 6, 2020 | Joseph Harvey

Earlier this year, before COVID-19 restrictions were put in place, IHS Markit Animal Health editor Joseph Harvey travelled to the FAO headquarters in Rome to speak to different stakeholders about foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) prevention. The podcast below features insight from GALVmed, AgResults and several animal health companies.

FMD is a viral disease that affects swine, cattle, sheep, goats, and other ruminants. The virus is highly contagious and outbreaks can have severe economic repercussions. FMD is an endemic disease in most African countries and the Middle East, as well as in several parts of Asia and in very limited areas of South America.

In the podcast below, IHS Markit Animal Heath speaks to GALVmed, AgResults, Biogénesis Bagó, Boehringer Ingelheim Animal Health, and Botswana Vaccine Initiative about a range of topics concerning FMD.

According to GALVmed, FMD costs Africa around $2.3 billion per year in economic losses, with both regional and international trade of animals and animal products being compromised.

GALVmed is the implementer of the AgResults FMD Vaccine Challenge Project, which focuses on the adoption and uptake of new vaccines in this area. This competition focuses on eastern Africa—a region that includes Burundi, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda.