Regional control platform for bovine leukosis

Executive Summary

Bovine leukosis is identified as one of the silent ailments that affects the health, productivity, and, therefore, economic performance of herds. Its asymptomatic presentation in 90% of cases has led to an underidentification and subsequent undervaluation of resulting productive losses. The growing demand for diagnosis, the appearance of tumors, consequential sudden deaths, and the absence of official sanitary measures, makes it a prospective threat for the dairy sector. Together with tuberculosis, brucellosis and sadness, it completes the set of diseases identified in the animal health programs of the countries of interest. These diseases are considered deserving of specific attention, both technological for better diagnosis, and political for the design of health policies that allow the initiation of control strategies. In Latin America and the Caribbean, bovine leukosis causes fatal tumors recently valued at US $ 5,000 per cow killed with lymphosarcoma (in Argentina).

A positive side effect of this project is that dairy and meat products will be provided to the market with added value due to their "leukosis free" quality, valued within a social context of growing demand for food safety and in concurrence with recent reports that propose that the consumption of bovine meat or milk from herds with leukosis constitutes a threat to public health.

Results

Beneficiaries

14 million dairy cattle distributed among around 470,000 producers, that produce around 20,000 million liters of milk in Argentina, Uruguay, Colombia, Costa Rica and Panama, representing around 26% of all Latin America and the Caribbean (excludes Mexico and Brazil).

Sustainable Development Goals

Main donors

Dissemination products