COLLEGE STATION As U.S. agriculture officials watch the rapid spread of foot-and-mouth disease across Great Britain, Texas veterinary experts are urging livestock owners to keep a vigilant watch for signs of the disease which has not been in this nation in more than 72 years.
The highly contagious disease can cause serious, chronic illness in cloven-footed animals such as cattle, sheep, pigs and some species of deer. Cases of foot and mouth have been confirmed in Asia, Africa, Europe, and South America in the past year, according to the Texas Animal Health Commission.
On March 6, livestock markets were closed down for two weeks across the European Union by animal health officials in an effort to contain the disease, according to reports by CNN.com. Cases of foot-and-mouth disease continue to rise in Great Britain, with 76 confirmed outbreaks across that country. As of Monday, the British Government had ordered the slaughter of about 80,000 animals.
Livestock develop blisters in the mouth, tongue, muzzle, teats and skin between the hooves of infected animals, according to Dr. Konrad Eugster, executive director of the Texas Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory. The veterinary diagnostic lab, part of the Texas A&M University System, is the only state facility that routinely performs livestock autopsies.
“The laboratory would most likely be one of the first agencies to become aware of a case in Texas,” Eugster said.
Infected pigs in the current outbreak in Great Britain were first recognized in a slaughter facility, said Dr. Bruce Lawhorn, veterinarian with the Texas Agricultural Extension Service. The disease rapidly spreads from animal to animal.
Lawhorn described foot-and-mouth disease as the “most contagious livestock disease there is.”
The virus is hardy and can be carried to the farm on equipment, clothing, boots and other items that have been in contact with diseased animals and their surroundings.
The disease is mainly introduced by waste food from humans that is fed to animals the last reported outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease in the United States in 1929 was reportedly from food scraps from a ship in port. The virus can also be air-borne-transmitted sometimes up to many miles or by live animals being moved from place to place, Lawhorn said.
“The good thing is we do not have foot and mouth in the United States, and we have one of the better animal surveillance systems in the world,” said Dr. Ernie Davis, Extension livestock economist. “On the economic side, it would be devastating for foot and mouth to come into this country. It would just wipe out the producers.
“But we have a lot of confidence in our surveillance systems and believe that we can prevent it from becoming a problem here,” he added.
Lawhorn said ranchers, swine producers and other livestock owners need to remain vigilant to keep the disease out of the United States.
His recommendations were:
* Limit vehicle traffic and visitors to your property. If you were planning to have visitors from countries with foot-and-mouth disease, postpone their visit.
* Make sure footwear that has been worn anywhere off the farm is cleaned and disinfected before being worn on your premises.
* Swine producers are accustomed to isolating new animals for 30 to 60 days before being introduced to the farm. This biosecurity measure should be practiced at least for 14 days by other livestock producers since foot-and-mouth disease is usually apparent in animals infected for five days or less.
* Swine premises approved for the use of waste food should continue to follow the requirement of boiling table scraps for at least 30 minutes before feeding.
People who visit farms in foreign countries must say so on the U.S. Customs form when returning to the United States. They also must be interviewed by a U.S. Department of Agriculture official, Eugster noted.
“This is not a new requirement, but this is certainly a time for travelers to heed this regulation very closely,” Eugster said.
They should expect to have their luggage inspected, and any meat products they may have with them taken away and incinerated at the airport.
Eugster said any suspicious signs or lesions in animals should be immediately reported to the Texas Animal Health Commission, (800) 550-8242. Suspicious cases may also be reported to any veterinarian in the state or to the veterinary diagnostic lab at (979) 845-3414 or toll-free at (888) 646-5623.
More information is available on the Texas Animal Health Commission Web site, http://www.tahc.state.tx.us/
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