This month the first purchases of $27 million of vaccine were delivered to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Foot and Mouth Disease Vaccine Bank. Nebraska Pork Producers Association Executive Director Al Juhnke says that’s a good start for an important foreign animal disease prevention program to protect U.S. livestock herds.
He says the idea for the FMD bank began two years ago when it was noted there was a miniscule amount of vaccine available should an outbreak occur.
Juhnke says with this month’s delivery to the FMD bank, the hope is that supply will grow in the future.
FMD is an infectious viral disease that affects cloven hoofed animals, including cattle, pigs and sheep. It is not a food safety or human health threat.
