The Department of Agriculture said on Monday that cases of foot and mouth disease (FMD) among animals have not yet been recorded in the Philippines.

DA Assistant Secretary Dante Palabrica said that in the event the disease enters the country, cattle and hogs will be affected.

“If the virus strikes now, easily we can buy the vaccine. There are three companies available,” he added.

Palabrica said that the country has recorded zero FMD cases for a long time.

“For decades, we have not vaccinated against FMD, so it is not in the immune systems of our animals. It is a stranger. When it [virus] comes in, it will spread,” he said.

He, however, said that the virus threat is a ‘piece of cake.’

“That means it's easy to control,” Palabrica said.

DA readies vs FMD

Palabrica said that the DA has measures in place to closely keep an eye on the issue.

“Right now, we have activated a system of reporting so that in the southern part of the country, we can check the entry of foot and mouth (disease).”

Moreover, he said that a technical working group had already been formed to monitor the situation.

Related to this, Palabrica revealed that vaccines against FMD are expected to arrive in the country by June this year, where half a million doses will be stored in the department’s freezers.

“We're now studying to stockpile the foot and mouth (disease) vaccine. It's in process by now,” Palabrica said.

“In case of an outbreak, we have a vaccine right away. Ring vaccination. What happened in Indonesia, it took them three months before they acted and got a vaccine,” he added.

According to Palabrica, besides Indonesia, FMD cases have been reported in India, Vietnam, and Thailand.