Azerbaijan increases preparedness against viral livestock disease

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) designed and implemented a foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) simulation exercise in Ganja, Azerbaijan, on 30 June 2026. The event continues today with the second day of the exercise, led by the Food Safety Agency of the Republic of Azerbaijan.

Exercise participants included private and official veterinarians aiming to gather the knowledge and skills they need to react quickly and effectively in the event of a disease outbreak.

Foot-and-mouth disease is a highly contagious viral disease that affects cloven-hoofed animals, including cattle, pigs, sheep, goats and various wild species, but is not considered a risk to humans. However, FMD has severe consequences for food security, livelihoods, and national and international trade.

The disease can be controlled through vaccination and other measures; but FMD remains common.

The first phase of the exercise focused on farm-level procedures for when FMD is suspected. Participants practised biosecure entry and exit, clinical examination, sampling, sample submission and outbreak investigation.

The fieldwork was followed by a short desktop phase to discuss the results of the outbreak investigation and reconstruct the timeline of events based on the scenario developed for the exercise.

“The aim of the simulation exercise was to test the capacity of the participants involved and provide feedback on what went well and what can be improved,” said Mark Hovari, FAO animal health preparedness expert. “Ensuring that veterinary services have strong field response capabilities is critical to reducing the spread of transboundary animal diseases and thus protecting animal health and farmers’ livelihoods.”

Implementing the Progressive Control Pathway

The Progressive Control Pathway for Foot-and-Mouth Disease (PCP-FMD) was developed by FAO to help countries where FMD remains endemic, allowing them to progressively reduce the impact of the disease.

Moving upwards stages – starting from 0 and continuing to stage 5 –, requires plans of action and proof that these plans are in progress.

Azerbaijan has reached stage 3 of the FMD Progressive Control Pathway, where stopping the circulation of the virus and progressing towards eliminating FMD are key goals. Demonstrating capacities for rapid detection and response to every FMD outbreak is therefore of key importance.