Latest news with #WorldOrganizationforAnimalHealth
Irish Independent
02-06-2025
- Health
- Irish Independent
Brazil declared free of foot-and-mouth disease without vaccination
The World Organization for Animal Health has recognized Brazil, the world's leading beef exporter, as a country free of foot-and-mouth disease without vaccination, a Brazilian official and a spokesperson for the intergovernmental body said. Brazilian lobbies representing some of the largest Brazilian meatpackers, including JBS, Minerva and Marfrig, said the development was historic, as it can help Brazil to win new markets.
Qatar Tribune
28-05-2025
- Health
- Qatar Tribune
Qatar participates in WOAH General Session in Paris
QNA Paris Qatar, represented by the Ministry of Municipality, participated in the 92nd General Session of the World Organization for Animal Health (WOAH), being held in Paris from May 25 to 29. The Qatari delegation was led by Assistant Undersecretary for Agriculture and Food Security Affairs at the Ministry of Municipality Eng Fahad Mohammed Al Qahtani, along with several officials and experts in animal health and veterinary inspection. The meeting addressed several key issues, including cross-border animal disease updates, the importance of developing and using veterinary vaccines, the concept of 'One Health', and ways to enhance international cooperation in epidemic reporting to limit the spread of diseases. Qatar's participation in this meeting reaffirms its commitment to supporting global efforts in animal health, promoting food security concepts, strengthening international collaboration in combating epidemics, and enhancing its presence in specialised international forums. It also underscores Qatar's dedication to sustainable development, protecting livestock, and establishing a robust biosecurity system at both the regional and global levels.
The Mainichi
20-05-2025
- Health
- The Mainichi
Brazil confirms its first bird flu outbreak in a commercial poultry farm
SAO PAULO (AP) -- Brazil, one of the world's largest producers and exporters of poultry, confirmed Friday the country's first bird flu outbreak on a commercial farm. The virus was found at a facility in the southern state of Rio Grande do Sul, the country's agriculture ministry said in a statement. It said a contingency plan has been implemented "not only to eliminate the disease but also to maintain the sector's productive capacity, ensuring supply and, consequently, food security for the population." The ministry said it has notified the World Organization for Animal Health, the Ministries of Health and the Environment and Brazil's trade partners. The agency said in a statement later Friday that China and the European Union have halted poultry imports from Brazil, following trade agreements. Restriction on poultry exports follows rules agreed on with each importing country, based on international health certificate requirements, the Agriculture and Livestock ministry added. Depending on the type of the disease, some deals apply to the whole country while others involve limits on where products can come from -- for example, a specific state, city or just the area of the outbreak. "Countries like Japan, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and the Philippines have already accepted this regional approach," the ministry said. Brazil is one of the world's leading producers and exporters of poultry, accounting for 14% of global chicken meat production, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. An egg shortage in the United States following the bird flu outbreak boosted Brazilian egg exports to the U.S., rising by more than 1,000% between January and April 2025 compared to the same period the previous year, according to trade data from the Brazilian government. Brazil's agriculture ministry also said Friday the disease is not transmitted through the consumption of poultry meat or eggs. "The risk of human infection by the avian flu virus is low and occurs mostly among handlers or professionals who have close contact with infected birds (alive or dead)," the ministry said. Brazilian chicken exports have previously faced resistance over sanitary concerns. In 2018, the European Union temporarily banned imports of chicken from 20 Brazilian plants due to concerns about salmonella. Brazil brought the case to the World Trade Organization.
Yahoo
17-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Brazilian "Supercows" Reportedly Close to Achieving World Domination
In southeastern Brazil, bovine beauty pageants help determine the most genetically desirable cows in the world — and these "supercows" are changing the meat farming industry as we know it. As The Economist reports, the drapey-necked "zebu" cows who compete in Brazil's ExpoZebu gala originally hailed from India, but have taken over in the South American country since the 19th century — initially thanks to a natural resistance to heat and parasites that European breeds lacked, and later thanks to genetic modification and cloning. In Brazil's Minas Gerais, cattle farming took the region from poverty to plenty — and zebu, which now make up some 80 percent of the more than 230 million-strong cow population of the country, are the king of the crop. Thanks to genetic modification programs from the 1970s onwards, both the plants that these "supercows" eat and the cattle themselves have made them all the stronger. In the 1990s, when animal breeding programs really began to take hold in Brazil, zebu began to quite literally get larger — and the average weight of one has ballooned by 16 percent since 1997, The Economist notes. At these pageants, buyers flock from all over the world not to purchase individual cows, but to get access to their genes — though the richest of the ranchers are able to bid on shares of each. The value of these elite zebu can balloon into the millions — last year, a female named Viatina-19 FIV Mara Movéis became the most valuable cow in the world at $4 million, and she has a team of vets and even an armed bodyguard to make sure she stays safe and healthy. Cows like Viatina-19 have three owners, each given the right to harvest their eggs for four months out of the year and sell them to breeders who, down the line, will license those genes to farmers looking to sell the meat. Unsurprisingly, prize-winning zebu are also cloned to ensure their genetic lines remain intact. Notably, the bovine heartiness of these zebu gene-hacking endeavors has opened the door not only to greater access to cow meat, but also to safer supplies as well. The World Organization for Animal Health, for instance, is slated to declare Brazil free of foot-and-mouth disease, The Economist reports — a boon for Brazil, but also for food safety and sanitation around the world, too. More on future meat: FDA Approves Gene-Hacked CRISPR Pigs for Human Consumption
Yomiuri Shimbun
17-05-2025
- Health
- Yomiuri Shimbun
Brazil Confirms Its First Bird Flu Outbreak in a Commercial Poultry Farm
SAO PAULO (AP) — Brazil, one of the world's largest producers and exporters of poultry, confirmed Friday the country's first bird flu outbreak on a commercial farm. The virus was found at a facility in the southern state of Rio Grande do Sul, the country's agriculture ministry said in a statement. It said a contingency plan has been implemented 'not only to eliminate the disease but also to maintain the sector's productive capacity, ensuring supply and, consequently, food security for the population.' The ministry said it has notified the World Organization for Animal Health, the Ministries of Health and the Environment and Brazil's trade partners. The agency said in a statement later Friday that China and the European Union have halted poultry imports from Brazil, following trade agreements. Restriction on poultry exports follows rules agreed on with each importing country, based on international health certificate requirements, the Agriculture and Livestock ministry added. Depending on the type of the disease, some deals apply to the whole country while others involve limits on where products can come from — for example, a specific state, city or just the area of the outbreak. 'Countries like Japan, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and the Philippines have already accepted this regional approach,' the ministry said. Brazil is one of the world's leading producers and exporters of poultry, accounting for 14% of global chicken meat production, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. An egg shortage in the United States following the bird flu outbreak boosted Brazilian egg exports to the U.S., rising by more than 1,000% between January and April 2025 compared to the same period the previous year, according to trade data from the Brazilian government. Brazil's agriculture ministry also said Friday the disease is not transmitted through the consumption of poultry meat or eggs. 'The risk of human infection by the avian flu virus is low and occurs mostly among handlers or professionals who have close contact with infected birds (alive or dead),' the ministry said. Brazilian chicken exports have previously faced resistance over sanitary concerns. In 2018, the European Union temporarily banned imports of chicken from 20 Brazilian plants due to concerns about salmonella. Brazil brought the case to the World Trade Organization.
