Guyana is to receive assistance from the Pan American Foot and Mouth Disease Centre (PANAFTOSA) to test locally for the debilitating cattle disease but positive tests will still have to be sent to the Brazilian-based centre for confirmation.

Agriculture Minister, Dr. Leslie Ramsammy said Guyana’s Animal Health Laboratory would by year-end begin testing for Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD).

“PANAFTOSA will assist us to establish this capacity and will assist Guyana in certifying Guyana’s Animal Health Laboratory,” he said. Ramsammy subsequently told Demerara Waves Online News (www.demwaves.com) that the sub-hemispheric centre would train Guyanese personnel here and Brazil to use the laboratory equipment. Certification of the lab by PANAFTOSA would allow for results to be accepted by international agencies, he added.

Asked why Guyana decided to develop FMD testing capacity, he explained that the local laboratory would be responsible for routine testing and reporting to PANAFTOSA.

“…so that we could do routine, continuous surveillance rather than just picking up specimens and waiting and then you go and then do the test in Brazil. We have the equipment and then we can do routine surveillance continuously throughout,” he said.

Guyana was again certified as FMD-free during surveillance studies done here between December 2011 and February 2012.

“Our cattle industry enjoys the coveted status of being free from Foot-and Mouth Disease without the use of vaccines. This success in disease control among Guyana’s cattle is as a result of a very effective surveillance program,” Ramsammy said in a statement.

The surveillance involved the collection of samples from Regions 9 and 6 during the period of December 2011 to February 2012. Sample collections involved the taking of blood specimens from animals in these regions. Officers from GLDA Head Office, Laboratory and Regional staff participated in these exercises. The groups were subdivided into three teams to cover the three sub districts in each region. A total of 825 blood samples were collected; serum from each sample was processed and then stored prior to dispatch to Brazil.

The serum samples obtained from animals in Regions 6 and 9 were taken to the PANAFTOSA Laboratory in Brazil for further testing by the Veterinary Officer in charge of the Laboratory, Dr. Dane Hartley. Dr. Hartley participated in the processing and testing of the samples. All of the samples were non-reactive (negative) for Foot-and-Mouth Disease, the Agriculture Ministry stated.

In FMD testing, test results are expressed as T/C values. Values below 0.8 T/C are negative for FMD. Values equal to or greater than 0.8 T/C are suspicious for FMD. All specimens from Guyana tested below 0.8.

The Agriculture Minister said Guyana is also taking steps to implement control programmes for brucellosis and bovine TB.   

Regular surveillance, authorities say, is required to ensure reliable supply of safe and health beef and compliance with the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE), the intergovernmental organisation responsible for improving animal health worldwide.