APHIS Highlights Biosecurity Advancements

USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service recently highlighted many of the advancements in AG biosecurity in 2020. Under Secretary for Marketing and Regulatory Programs Greg Ibach, said among the highlights, progress on a Foot and Mouth vaccine bank.

"We were able to negotiate a very attractive contract that allowed us to purchase basically double the amount of vaccine that we thought we would be able to purchase, not only to price negotiation, buy by increasing based on science the efficacy dates from five years to ten years so those vaccines would be able to have a long shelf life if they weren't used."

Also of note, advances in brucella research. Eradication of the restionia virus in greenhouses within a short period of time. And eradication of a low path strain of avian influenza in the Carolinas this past spring that prevented a potential mutation to a highly pathogenic form with potential to threaten commercial poultry flocks.

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