For the first time: an Argentine company will send antifungal vaccines to a European Union country that has an emergency

For the first time, an Argentine company will send foot-and-mouth disease vaccines to a European Union country facing an emergency. The firm, Biogénesis Bagó, plans to dispatch around one million doses to Cyprus, which has been grappling with a health crisis since February after losing its status as a "foot-and-mouth disease-free zone without vaccination" following three outbreaks in Larnaca. This marks the first instance of a European Union nation receiving foot-and-mouth disease vaccines produced in Argentina. Until now, the EU had always sourced such vaccines from European laboratories. Biogénesis Bagó’s CEO, Esteban Turic, highlighted the significance of this shipment during a ceremony at the company's plant in Garín, where he was joined by Brazil’s Minister of Agriculture and Livestock, André de Paula, who attended the handover of the National Bank of Antigens in Brazil. According to Turic, the operation addresses a specific need. "There is an unsatisfied demand for vaccines, and we have the vaccine," he stated. The European Union ceased systematic vaccination against foot-and-mouth disease years ago and continues to prohibit preventive vaccination. However, the resurgence of the disease has brought the issue back into focus. In January 2025, Germany confirmed an outbreak in Brandenburg, followed two months later by new cases in Hungary and Slovakia affecting more than 6,000 animals each. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) described this situation as the largest outbreak recorded in Europe since 2001. Cyprus faces a different challenge. The island is dealing with the SAT1 strain, a variant originating from southern Africa that has spread to Asia. Traditional vaccines used in other regions offer no protection against this strain, which has also been detected in the Greek island of Lesbos, Israel, and Turkey. Additionally, Cyprus's health control efforts are complicated by the political division of the island between the area administered by the government of Nicosia, the capital, and the Turkish-controlled sector, where the initial cases were identified. To combat the spread of the disease, authorities have imposed restrictions on animal movement, suspended live livestock exports, and launched an emergency vaccination campaign. According to Biogénesis Bagó, Europe initially relied on the traditional strategy of culling infected herds. However, the expansion of outbreaks forced a reassessment of this approach. "The disease spread throughout the territory, and now they no longer want to apply mass culling because the losses are enormous and producers must be economically compensated," Turic explained. He added that vaccination represents a significantly lower economic cost compared to culling and compensation. "Logically, the vaccine is much cheaper than a cull and compensation," he noted. Turic emphasized that the disease does not cause mortality in adult cattle and poses no risk to humans. "Repopulating a field after a cull and dealing with all the economic losses generated by that is very difficult for any producer," he said. The shipment to Cyprus became possible due to the prequalification granted by the European Commission for the Control of Foot-and-Mouth Disease (EuFMD), an organization under the FAO. According to the company, this process involves an independent technical evaluation of the safety, efficacy, and potency of the product. Although it does not constitute a formal health registration, it allows countries to use the vaccine. The company did not specify whether the European Commission has formally approved the vaccine for use in Cyprus, but the prequalification facilitates its deployment in the affected region.