Canada seeking manufacturers to stock FMD vaccine bank

The Government of Canada is advancing its work in establishing a foot and mouth disease (FMD) vaccine bank by issuing a Request for Proposal (RFP) by Public Services and Procurement Canada, on behalf of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA), to supply vaccine products to the FMD vaccine bank.

The successful bidder(s) would provide concentrated FMD vaccines that could be rapidly transformed into usable vaccines. Information about the RFP including requirements, criteria, processes and timelines is available to interested bidders on CanadaBuys .

The vaccine bank will help protect Canada from the emerging threat of this disease, maintain public confidence in the Canadian food supply, and help reduce the spread of the disease, should an outbreak occur. An effective and efficient response, including vaccination, will also help mitigate prolonged market disruptions to trade, the government said.

Canadian Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food Lawrence MacAulay commented: "It's vitally important that we continue to take steps to protect livestock, and the livelihood of our hardworking farmers, against the threat of animal disease. By creating a dedicated foot and mouth disease vaccine bank, we're working to reduce the spread of the disease and the impact that a potential outbreak would have on market access for Canadian producers. Today's announcement marks another step forward in the on-going work of supporting our animal disease preparedness efforts.”

Canada has been free from FMD since 1952, and strict measures are in place to prevent the disease from entering Canada. However, the economic impacts in Canada alone if an FMD outbreak were to occur are estimated between $20.9 billion and $65.2 billion depending on the mode of introduction and extent of spread.

The CFIA has said it would use a vaccine only in the event of an outbreak to protect animals and help stop the spread of disease.