Category Archives: One Health
Bury our way out of foot-and-mouth disease? Think again.
To illustrate the importance of considering alternatives to burial as a carcass management option, Lori Miller of USDA APHIS, has made it easy to visualize some mind boggling statistics. Policy-makers and those qualified as incident commanders would do well to … Continue reading
Recent foot-and-mouth disease outbreaks deserve a closer look
Taiwan 1997 Taiwan was free of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) from 1929 until 1997. An outbreak in 1997 spread rapidly among swine herds resulting in the destruction of 3.8 million pigs and loss of export markets. Taiwan now produces 6 million … Continue reading
Important Lessons from 2011 Dairy Industry Crisis Drills
In May I attended the first of three 2011 Dairy Industry Crisis Drills in which the featured scenario involves foot-and-mouth disease. These drills were coordinated by Dairy Management Inc. (DMI), which manages the dairy check off program. You may be … Continue reading
Strengthening Community Agrosecurity Planning (S-CAP) Workshop
On May 13 & 14, 2011, UVM Extension held a Strengthening Community Agrosecurity Planning (S-CAP) workshop in Rutland, VT to address agricultural gaps in Vermont’s local and state emergency operations plans. The S-CAP program is sponsored by the Extension Disaster … Continue reading
0, 1, 8, or 2026? How many makes a crisis? (Part 4 of 4)
The worst case: 2001 outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease in the United Kingdom It hard to argue with 2 thousand cases, 10 thousand culled farms, and over 6 million animals slaughtered being a crisis of horrific proportions. Eight hundred forty-three cases … Continue reading
0, 1, 8, or 2026? How many makes a crisis? (Part 3 of 4)
Laboratory release leads to limited outbreak in England in 2007 Here is the play by play: The first case was a beef herd in Surrey. The diagnosis was confirmed August 3. An immediate nationwide stop movement order on livestock went … Continue reading
0, 1, 8, or 2026? How many makes a crisis? (Part 2 of 4)
One case found in Northern Ireland Less than two weeks after the diagnosis of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) in the United Kingdom in 2001, the slaughter of a herd of sheep was ordered in Northern Ireland. Animals had been traced as … Continue reading
0, 1, 8, or 2026? How many makes a crisis? (Part 1 of 4)
Foot-and-mouth disease hoax in New Zealand In 2005 a letter was sent to New Zealand’s minister of agriculture (similar to our federal Secretary of Agriculture) claiming that foot-and-mouth disease had been released on Waiheke Island, a small island just north … Continue reading
Secretary’s Advisory Committee on Animal Health (SACAH)
Public participation is the rule for all SACAH meetings. Sign up by email to SACAH.Management@aphis.usda.gov. Comments, suggestions and/or questions for the Committee’s consideration may likewise be submitted. Committee documentation will be posted on this web site and on FIDO.gov.
Global Events Prompt Local Vigilance
Sometimes I am asked why we should worry about foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) in the US when we have been free of the disease since 1929. News reports, feature articles, and press releases circulating in recent months provide ample justification. To … Continue reading
