In the framework of its Resolution 655/2026, the National Agri-Food Health and Quality Service (SENASA) reinforces the sanitary strategies contemplated in the National Plan for Integrated Control and Eradication of the Bovine Tick, with special attention to the protection of tick-free zones and the prevention of the dissemination of resistance to veterinary acaricide products (VAP).
The update of the National Plan establishes that, prior to any movement of bovine, buffalo, and equine livestock, the producer must verify the sanitary requirements and request, where necessary, the pre-dispatch inspection of the herd at their own establishment, a task carried out by technicians and veterinarians accredited by SENASA.
This procedure, registered through the Livestock Inspection and Dispatch Form (FIDHA), is crucial for livestock movement since, if no live ticks are detected during the inspection, the FIDHA is declared "accepted" and authorizes, within the following 48 hours, the issuance of the Electronic Transit Document (DT-e). If, on the contrary, ectoparasites are recorded, the herd must be declared "rejected" and its departure will not be authorized under those conditions.
Correctly performing this control at the origin establishment is key to preventing parasitized animals from moving to lower-risk areas, especially to Eradication (E) zones, with tick presence (where different degrees of infestation coexist), and Sanitary Safeguard (SS) zones, naturally free of the parasite.
In the SS zone, the sanitary strategy is sustained by immediate notification—within 48 hours—of any suspicion or finding, and by the possibility of requesting an official inspection when animals from tick-infested zones enter. For their part, establishments located in the E zone must carry out active epidemiological surveillance in controlling the entry of herds.
It is important to remember that, when a herd tests positive in the in-transit inspection or at the destination establishment, it must return to the origin premises within a maximum of 48 hours. Following this finding, the owner of the animals must perform a bioassay, that is, a sensitivity test that measures the tick's resistance to the different active ingredients of VAPs.
The result of this analysis allows the establishment to be classified according to its degree of resistance and to reorient a management and use strategy for acaricides towards active ingredients with greater sensitivity, avoiding the application of inadequate treatments that accelerate the appearance of resistant strains and their subsequent dissemination to other regions.
With these actions, SENASA and the productive sector reinforce their commitment to the four fundamental pillars of the National Plan: preventing the entry of ticks into tick-free zones, avoiding the development of resistance to acaricide products, safeguarding food safety, and promoting integrated tick control.
