Brasília - A team of inspectors from the US Department of Agriculture is in Brazil this week for a look at the government's action plan to combat foot and mouth disease in the states of Mato Grosso do Sul and Paraná. They will meet with authorities from the Brazilian Ministry of Agriculture and examine its National Plan for Eradication of Foot and Mouth Disease (Pnefa).

The group will also visit the Pan American Foot and Mouth Disease Center in Rio de Janeiro and have a meeting with minister of Agriculture, Robert Rodrigues.

The American inspectors will visit Paraguay, Bolivia and Ecuador after leaving Brazil on
Wednesday (January 25).

Translation: Allen Bennett