1a.Objectives (from AD-416)
Establish a program which will include research and application components, to lay the foundation for rural development in the Autonomous Region of the Azores, Portugal. The 1995 Agreement on Cooperation and Defense between the US and Portugal, calls for US Government agencies to cooperate in such efforts. DOD has requested and funded USDA/ARS to serve as the lead civilian agency for this program under the Cooperative Initiatives Program.

1b.Approach (from AD-416)
Technical cooperation will be focused in animal health and explore opportunities for research activities into new techologies to overcome real and potential constraints of the dairy industry. It will also involve absorption and adaptation by the Veterinary Services of the Azores of procedures and processes to implement a Dairy Health Monitoring System based on the experience accumulated in the US and some continuing education actions to increase awareneess of some diseases present in the Azorean's cattle and disease emergency preparedness. These initial activities will lead to further cooperation on implementation of quality assurance and certification programs for the dairy industry to the Azores. It will also lead to a common research agenda involving research institutions in the US and the Azores to develop new technologies and processes to be used on-farm and in the processing phases to increase efficiency and competitiveness of the US and Azoreans dairy products both domestically and internationally.

3.Progress Report
This report serves to document research conducted under a specific cooperative agreement between ARS and the RGA’s Veterinary Service. Dairy production in the Azores represents one of the largest sectors of the economy; producers need to continue increased production trends and expansion of markets for Azorean dairy products, as called for under the 1995 Agreement on Cooperation and Defense between the United States and Portugal. The RGA’s veterinary service and University of Azores, with technical support from USDA, seek to mitigate problems in the Azorean dairy production system by establishing a herd health monitoring system , extension programs for farmers on dairy and human health issues related to milk production, and a common research agenda in bovine genomics related to disease resistance. In the previous year, the Veterinary Services conducted several epidemiological studies on bovine viral diarrhoea virus (BVDV), bovine herpesvirus Type 1 (BHV 1), and Neospora caninum infections in the dairy herds of Terceira Island. The studies demonstrated that these diseases are very common on this island; therefore the Veterinary Services started monitoring for these diseases in the islands of São Miguel and São Jorge. ELISA diagnostic tests were made in bulk tank milk samples, which represents about 75% of the dairy herds on each island, to detect antibodies against BHV 1, BVDV and Neospora caninum, pathogenic agents responsible for Infectious Bovine Rhinotracheitis - Infectious Pustular Vulvovaginitis (IBR/IPV), Bovine Diarrhoea Viral – Mucosal disease (BVD/MD) and Neosporosis. A seroepidemiological survey was also taken to identify the presence of BVD/MD in the islands of Sao Jorge and Sao Miguel in order to evaluate the prevalence of animals persistently infected (PI) with the BVD virus, since these animals represent the source of infections in herds. The data taken on the prevalence of the Chlamydiose and the Paratuberculosis incidences on Terceira Island were analyzed. Dairy herds were selected randomly with a confidence level of 95% and an expected prevalence of 20% for Chlamydiose and 50% for Paratuberculosis. A survey was conducted with the owners of each dairy herd. The resulting data were sent to the Veterinary Services by the offices of the Agricultural Development Service of each island, in computer files, to identify all the producers that were subjects of the case study. A data base was developed and the evaluation began on the various identified diseases in the islands. The data base was provided to the local offices of the Agricultural Development Service on Sao Miguel and Sao Jorge islands to aid in the sanitary decisions for each dairyherd. The information input to the database was concluded for the island of Terceira and preliminary statistical analysis of the data has begun. On the island of S. Miguel more surveys were made and the database was updated. On the island of S. Jorge, surveys were concluded and data entry initiated. With the work done in this past year, it was possible to conclude that IBR/IPV, BVD/MD and Neosporosis are present in dairy cows on the islands of S. Miguel and S. Jorge.