. /.   WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  G/SPS/GEN/1023 
22 June 2010 
 
 (10-3392) 
Committee on Sanitary a nd Phytosanitary Measures Original:   Spanish 
  
 
HEALTH STATUS REPORT 
 
Communication from Paraguay
 
  
 The following communication, received on 17 June 2010, is being circulated at the request of 
the delegation of Paraguay
. 
 
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FOOT AND MOUTH DISEASE 
 
1. The National Programme for the Eradication of  Foot and Mouth Disease has been under way 
since 1992, and in 1997 Paraguay obtained the stat us of "foot and mouth disease-free country with 
vaccination" for the first time. 
2. At the recent 78
th General Session of the World Orga nisation for Animal Health (OIE), 
Paraguay was once again granted the status of  "foot and mouth disease-free country with 
vaccination", a category in which the country had been classified since 2007, in view of the ongoing 
implementation in the region of an agreement be tween the Standing Veterinary Committee of the 
Southern Cone (CVP) and the OIE to establish hi gh surveillance zones in areas along the borders of 
Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia and Paraguay. 
3. In this connection, it is important to highlight that the joint efforts between the public and the 
productive sectors will lead to the construction of a new BSL3-ag (biosafety level 3 for agricultural 
hazards) diagnostic laboratory for foot and mouth disease and poten tially other diseases exotic to 
Paraguay, which will be of significant va lue for both animal and public health. 
4. This will provide the Veterinary Service with suitable facilities for risk material management 
and foot and mouth disease immunization control that  can be used in the country with sufficient 
latitude and under proper biosafety conditions. 
BOVINE SPONGIFORM ENCEPHALOPATHY 
 
5. Since 1996, Paraguay has been implementi ng its Prevention Programme for Bovine 
Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE), and in 2000 it acqui red the status of Geographical BSE Risk 1 
Country, granted by the European Union. 
6. In 2005, Paraguay was certified by the OIE as a "BSE Provisionally Free Country" on the 
basis of the Terrestrial Animal Health Code in effect at the time. 
7. In 2008, Paraguay was certified by the OIE as a "BSE Negligible Risk" country in accordance 
with the current Terrestrial Animal Health Code.  On the basis of the documents submitted on the G/SPS/GEN/1023 
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  country's health status in regard to the disease, Paraguay was re-certified as a "BSE Negligible Risk" 
country at the recent General Session of the OIE last May. 
RINDERPEST 
 
8. At its May 2010 General Session held in Paris,  France, the OIE once again granted Paraguay 
the status of country free from the disease. 
CLASSICAL SWINE FEVER 
 
9. The National Swine Health Plan of Paraguay and the Programme for the Eradication of 
Classical Swine Fever 2010-2012 were adopted by Executive Decree No. 4.214 enacted on 
16 April 2010, not only covering matters relating to the sector's production but also providing for the 
improvement of health conditions among the coun try's swine population.  Immunization against 
classical swine fever has been prohibited through out the country, moving the National Eradication 
Programme towards its final phase with the establis hment of a surveillance programme, considering 
the absence of viral circulation of the disease. 
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