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Illinois Foot and Mouth Disease in the UK - you had to be there I spent the month of April as one of a number of American veterinarians dispatched to assist the British Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food in efforts to contain the outbreak of Foot and Mouth Disease. The temporary service performed by the U.S. vets was designed to accomplish two main objectives: first to assist in the effort to eliminate Foot and Mouth Disease virus from their country and second to learn directly what we can do to prevent the disease from occurring in the U.S. and how to deal with it if it hits us.
As I left for the United Kingdom, I knew I wanted to see the disease firsthand. I wanted to go beyond the clinical descriptions and textbook pictures. That desire, however, quickly faded. This virus has been devastating to animals and farm families across the country. It is the most contagious agent affecting sheep, cattle and swine that we know. It devastates production, kills young and debilitated animals and disrupts the business of agriculture. In modern industrialized countries, the disease must be eradicated. I and several of my American counterparts were assigned to what I would call "blue collar" veterinary work, taking blood samples and checking animals outside of the "hot zones" for signs of the disease. As I and other vets poured in from the U.S., Australia, New Zealand and Spain, the overworked vets from the local Ministry of Agriculture and the private practice vets were ready for relief. We stepped in to visit farms to help monitor progress of eradication efforts, look for new cases in at-risk locations and generally provide support for the farm community. Fresh vets who had been able to stay away from diseased farms were welcomed by those producers who had thus far dodged the virus, but whose animals required monitoring and assistance. One local even commented, "I guess you Yanks have come to save us once again." While we did not see the disease close-up, we did see the effects. Traffic of animals and people was stopped in infected areas, affecting the everyday life of residents. Herds were depopulated, causing both financial and emotional hardship for farmers. Even the well being of the remaining animals was affected. Lambing and calving was done outside in wet fields because of movement restrictions, causing abnormal losses. Animals ready for market could not move from at-risk locations until the area was determined to be disease-free. And the transportation of feed, bedding, manure, milk, etc. was much more complicated in restricted areas. All of these efforts, however, were needed to control the spread of the virus. Since my return, I have worked with Illinois Department of Agriculture staff to share what I learned and observed on my trip so that the lessons learned in Great Britain can be taken into account in planning efforts here to control any potential Foot and Mouth outbreak. I particularly appreciate the opportunity given to me by Governor George Ryan and Agriculture Director Joe Hampton to see this effort first hand and bring back valuable lessons for Illinois. As I write this, we in the U.S. continue to be very fortunate. The North American continent has remained free of Foot and Mouth and the warm summer months that are coming on reduce the likelihood that the virus could survive and spread here. But the devastation that has taken place in much of Europe because of this disease should serve as a stern reminder to us all that basic biosecurity measures in our everyday livestock practices should never be taken for granted. We have too much at stake.
Dr.Randall Larson is a supervisor with the Illinois Department of Agriculture's Bureau of Meat and Poultry
Inspection. Prior to coming to the Department, he was a private-practice veterinarian for more than 30 years.
4 ILLINOIS COUNTRY LIVING JULY 2001 |
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