03583naa a2200289 a 450000100080000000500110000800800410001902400410006010000210010124502090012226000090033150003940034052021140073465000180284865300270286665300330289365300390292665300380296565300310300370000190303470000150305370000220306870000200309070000260311070000200313677301370315610612522020-07-29       2020    bl uuuu     u00u1 u    #d7 a10.1016/j.prevetmed.2020.1050822DOI1 aCORBELLINI, L.G.  aShifting to foot-and-mouth disease-free status without vaccinationbApplication of the PROMETHEE method to assist in the development of a foot-and-mouth national program in Uruguay.h[electronic resource]  c2020  aArticle history: Received 2 May 2020/ Revised 21 June 2020/ Accepted 28 June 2020 / Available online 29 June 2020. Corresponding author at: Departamento de Medicina Veterinária Preventiva, Laboratório de Epidemiologia (Epilab), Faculdade de Veterinária, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Porto Alegre, Brazil. E-mail address: luis.corbellini@ufrgs.br (L.G. Corbellini).  aAbstract: Foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) is highly contagious, and the introduction of FMD virus in countries free of the disease can result in large epidemics, similar to those observed in the United Kingdom, Japan, and Uruguay. Many countries or regions of South America are recognized as ?FMD-free with vaccination? or ?FMD-free without vaccination.? Uruguay has been certified as FMD-free with vaccination, and the transition to the status of FMD-free without vaccination has been discussed among the stakeholders of the Ministry of Livestock Agriculture and Fisheries (MGAP in Spanish). This study illustrates how the Preference Ranking Organization Method for Enrichment Evaluation (PROMETHEE) can identify and rank alternative actions to be used in the national FMD program in Uruguay. It uses multiple-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) to structure the problem comprehensively. This helps to identify critical issues and potential solutions when planning a national FMD program for a country with a disease-free without vaccination status. The analysis highlighted the following perspectives: i) the importance of communication strategies as the country changes to ?FMD-free without vaccination? status, as well as potential challenges such as a lack of trust in government; ii) the importance of enhancing epidemiological capacity and data management to allocate resources better and provide feedback from the surveillance system; iii) the need to re-evaluate the animal health compensation strategy to stimulate biosecurity and disease reporting; and iv) the importance of assisting the backyard pig sector given the risks it carries and the complexity of dealing with because of its informality, the educational status of its owners, and the lack of formal assistance by veterinary services. The results suggests that the MCDA approach could be a useful tool for animal health agencies when planning a program to eliminate FMD (as well as other diseases) in a structured way because it helps to identify which alternatives would yield more effective results and it helps to address future challenges.  aFIEBRE AFTOSA  aANIMAL HEALTH PLANNING  aDECISION-MAKING EPIDEMIOLOGY  aFOOT-AND-MOUTH DISEASE ERADICATION  aMULTIPLE-CRITERIA DECISION ANALYS  aPLATAFORMA DE SALUD ANIMAL1 aFERNÁNDEZ, F.1 aVITALE, E.1 aMOREIRA OLMOS, C.1 aCHARBONNIER, P.1 aIRIARTE BARBOSA, M.V.1 aRIET-CORREA, F.  tPreventive Veterinary Medicine, August 2020, Volume 181, Article number 105082. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.prevetmed.2020.105082