CAMAGÜEY.- The Integrated Control Program of Ticks (ICPT) in Cuba is an example of how the application of modern biotechnologies, in this case Gavac®, vaccine destined to control the tick Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) microplus in beef cattle, can have a real impact in the country’s economic life. Or so was said at the VII National Workshop of Strategic Agricultural Products, that concluded today in Camagüey.
The addition of 361 330 new cows to the first vaccination campaign in 2019, developed from April to June, allowed that for the first time the immunogen was applied to 1 million 461 935 livestocks across the country; which allows significant savings on the concept of acquisition of acaricides, medicine for the control of hemoparasites.
The M. Sc. Tatiana González Estévez, National Coordinator of Strategic Agricultural Products in the Center of Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (CIGB, Spanish acronym), recognize among the main advantages of the use of Gavac®, the reduction of the incidence of ticks in the grass and on the animals, increasing the quality of life of the cows and therefore the productions of milk and meat.
González Estévez pointed out the contribution of the program for the protection of the environment and the health of the workers of the sector. “We promote a purely ecological product. We are concerned not only about the animal’s health, but also the humans’, which is only one”
The joint work of the Ministry of Agriculture (Minag) and the Center of Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (CIGB) have allowed since 2016 a progressive increase of benefited animals in Cuba. One of the accomplishments was the declaration on account of the Department of Animal Healthcare (DSA, Spanish acronym), of the mandatory application in vaccination campaigns every semester.
For a second stage, scheduled from October to December, it is planned to add 189 209 animals. The aspiration is to reach two million animals, for which it is necessary to accomplish a greater introduction of the private sector, which owns a little over 80 per cent of the livestock in the country.
During the workshop, the provinces recognized for being on the vanguard in the ICPT were Holguín and Camagüey and the special municipality Isla de la Juventud.
- Translated by Elianna Díaz Mendieta