The USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) has announced the initial purchase of vaccine for the National Animal Vaccine and Veterinary Countermeasures Bank (NAVVCB) that was created in the 2018 Farm Bill at the request of NCBA. APHIS will invest $27.1 million in foot-and-mouth disease vaccines, which the agency would use in the event of an outbreak to protect animals and help stop the spread of disease.
Vaccination helps control the spread of infection by reducing the amount of virus shed by animals and by controlling clinical signs of illness. While an outbreak temporarily would disrupt international markets, vaccination would allow animals to move through domestic production channels.
NAVVCB is one component of a three-part program established by the Farm Bill to comprehensively support animal disease prevention and management. The new U.S.-only vaccine bank makes a much larger number of vaccine doses available than what currently is in the North American Foot-and-Mouth Disease Vaccine Bank. APHIS will continue to participate in this bank, however, the new program will add to the nation’s level of protection against this devastating disease. In the event of an outbreak, animal health officials would decide when, where and how to use the available vaccine, based on the circumstances of the outbreak.