SAO PAULO (Reuters) – The World Organization for Animal Health has recognized four additional Brazilian states as free of foot-and-mouth disease without the need for vaccinations, Agriculture Ministry Tereza Cristina Dias said in a tweet on Thursday.

“This is a historical day for the Brazilian livestock sector,” Dias said of the development, which brings to five the number of states that have eradicated the disease that causes lesions and lameness in cattle and sheep.

The development underscores the strength of Brazil’s beef industry, a major supplier to importers like China and home to the world’s biggest commercial cattle herd.

Companies including JBS SA, Marfrig and Minerva are based in Brazil, which is also the world’s biggest beef exporter ahead of the United States and Australia.

The additional states now considered free of foot-and-mouth disease free without vaccination are Paraná, Rio Grande do Sul, Acre, and Rondônia, Dias said.

Parts of Amazonas and Mato Grosso were given the same status, Dias added.

Santa Catarina was for a long time the only state in Brazil that was considered foot-and-mouth disease free without vaccination.

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