The AFRI biosecurity project held its first Public 
Issue Forum in Vergennes on September 14. The goals of the forum were to provide background on the impact a highly contagious animal disease emergency (for instance, foot-and-mouth disease) could have on Vermont communities, present several aspects of response preparation, and foster dialogue among various stakeholders. Andrea Suozzo reported on the forum in the Addison County Independent [http://www.addisonindependent.com/201109dairy-forum-deals-infectious-disease].
When asked “What else, if anything, about this issue still needs to be addressed?”, the attendees told us “. . . we only just started!” “Continue to work with communities on these ‘discussions’”.
To that end we have scheduled a second forum on November 15. Details can be found in the sidebar. Hope to see you there!
Then more friends can talk about this problem
Look back at Irene. It came through on a Sunday. By Monday morning it was
gone; the water started to recede. All the damage that was going to occur
was done. The resulting disaster was visible to everyone. Inside 24 hours
steps to quantify and repair the damage done were under way.
That is not the case with an agricultural disease emergency such as FMD.
Once it arrives you have no idea of where it will cause “damage” next or
when the damage it is causing will end.
If we were to get FMD in the US, our agriculture will not be “reopened” –
as was the case for Rt 4 in Mendon – in a short 3 weeks!
Steve Van Wie DVM
(posted and digitally signed with permission LDB III)