EDITOR'S NOTE: The following text is from Ohio Agriculture Director Fred L. Dailey's powerpoint presentation to the Ohio Senate Agriculture Committee. You may view the slides by clicking on the links.
1.
Overview and Introduction
Mr.
Chairman, members of the committee, I am Fred Dailey, director of the Ohio
Department of Agriculture. I am pleased to be offered the opportunity to appear
before you today to talk more about two very different diseases that not only
are wreaking havoc in Europe and dominating the news but also are often confused
with each other.
First,
foot-and-mouth disease, or FMD, also known as hoof-and-mouth disease, is one of
the most infectious animal diseases known to man. FMD is a severe viral disease that spreads rapidly among
farms affecting cattle, swine, sheep, goats, deer and other cloven-hoofed
animals, but it is not considered a public health threat to humans.
Second,
bovine spongiform encephalopathy, or BSE, also known as “Mad Cow Disease,”
has become one of the most frightening diseases known to man. It is a
comparatively new disease in cattle believed to be caused by a newly discovered
infectious agent called a “prion” that is neither a virus nor a bacterium.
BSE is believed to be transmitted by contaminated feed, and is fatal to cattle.
Worse, in rare instances people in the U.K., the Republic of Ireland, and France
are believed to have contracted a deadly human version of this disease by
consuming beef containing this contaminant.
In the next half-hour I will cover more information about what these two diseases have in common but also how they are very different from each other. I will also cover what threats we believe they pose to Ohio, what preventative measures we are taking against these threats, and how we plan to respond if either disease invades our state.
As
we cover this material I want you to keep in mind that these two diseases have
been kept out of the U.S., that ODA and other agencies at the federal and state
levels across the country are working every day to make sure that doesn’t
happen, and that these same agencies are prepared to deal with that should it
happen.
Let
me start with a look at the most recent outbreaks of foot-and-mouth disease
elsewhere in the world. This disease is not new or rare in the world, but it has
made incursions in areas that have not seen it in decades.
In
particular, the U.K. is having a severe outbreak of the disease for the first
time since 1967. From the first case reported on February 20, by 8 p.m. Tuesday,
April 3, the number of cases grew to 1,013. As of Tuesday night, total number of
animals euthanized or identified for euthanasia was around 1 million-ten
thousand. Reports received so far show just under 631,000 euthanized, of which
192,000 remained to be disposed of, and 379,000 animals were waiting to be
euthanized.
Cases
have been reported elsewhere in Europe and in Argentina, although their growth
there has not been as rapid as in the U.K. Preliminary reports from observers of
the U.K. situation say that the rapid spread there was due largely to lack of
controls on livestock movements within the country. The only land masses in the
world where FMD is not present are North America, Central America, Australia,
New Zealand, and Japan.
The
disease gets its name from the clinical signs of infection. Animals develop
blister-like lesions followed by erosions on the tongue and lips, in the mouth,
on the teats and between the hooves. Hogs may lose their hooves. Cattle,
especially, begin to produce a lot of saliva.
All animals develop fevers. In cows, there is a dramatic drop in milk
production. Animal conception rates may become low. The clinical signs of the
disease are similar to those of three other vesicular diseases in livestock that
we are constantly on the watch for.
FMD
is caused by a virus. Much like the common cold in humans, it is spread easily
and rapidly to animals through contact with other animals and people, by
breathing contaminated air, by eating contaminated food, and by contact with
materials that are already contaminated with the virus, including clothes,
shoes, and farm machinery.
Sheep
are so-called “maintainers” of the disease – clinical signs are not as
easy to spot as in other species. Cows are called “indicators” of the
disease – clinical signs are easy to spot. Hogs are called “amplifiers” of
the disease -- they produce the most doses of infection, up to 100 million per
day.
The
disease can lead to myocarditis (inflammation of the muscular walls of the
heart) and results in death, especially in newborn animals, of about 1 percent
of infected animals.
Morbidity
in infected animals is almost 100 percent. Although these animals survive, the
disease usually leaves them with problems. Meat animals do not normally regain
weight loss for many months. Recovered cows seldom produce milk at their former
rates. It is difficult for animals to rid themselves of the virus, and they
become chronic poor performers.
Livestock
owners dread foot-and-mouth disease more than any other animal disease. Farmers
could suffer from losses in the production of meat and milk and prices could
increase for consumers. If the disease were to spread unchecked, the economic
impact would be devastating to agriculture. Presence of FMD in a country
eliminates almost all of its export markets.
There is
also an emotional toll. The primary measures needed to control the disease are
rapid destruction of entire herds. This prospect is unpleasant to non-farmers
and gut-wrenching to people who’ve devoted lives to raising a herd.
Ohio
is home to approximately 265,000 milk cows, 1.2 million beef cattle and calves,
1.5 million hogs, and 142,000 sheep. Together they are valued at nearly $1.13
billion – and all of them would be susceptible to FMD, along with our
white-tailed deer population, if it were introduced in the U.S.
Even containing infection to one
part of Ohio will cause great hardship. Look at Mercer County as an example.
Mercer is home to an estimated 42,200 beef cattle and calves, 16,700 milk cows,
and 152,00 hogs. Together they are valued at an estimated $63 million. Also, we
can assume that Mercer County’s corn and soybean growers, who received $41
million in 1999 for their crops, would need to find new markets for at least
half their crop.
North
American farm officials are worried that FMD could jump across the Atlantic
because of free trade and travel. Exclusion of FMD from our shores remains our
most important mission at this time.
One key
to the U.S. defense against that possibility is the USDA’s Plum Island Disease
Research Center, part of the U.S. Department of
Agriculture. The previous pictures of animals with FMD were taken at Plum
Island.
The center’s scientists and veterinarians work
for two USDA agencies, the Agricultural Research Service
and the Animal
and Plant Health Inspection Service.
Located off the northeastern tip of Long Island in New York, Plum Island is the
only place in the country where certain highly infectious foreign animal
diseases are studied, including FMD. Their job is to help keep these diseases
out of the country by finding quicker ways to diagnose and control them.
Our
preparations for the possibility of an outbreak here have covered two areas:
precautions that should be taken against an incursion here, and plans for an
effective response should that happen.
USDA
has been working intently with other federal and state agencies, including the
Ohio Department of Agriculture to make sure the virus does not come into the
U.S. through international ports on cargo or passengers.
Perhaps
most important is that the USDA has issued an interim rule, effective Feb. 21,
2001, removing the U.K. from the list of FMD-free countries. This action
prohibits the importation of all ruminants and swine, and most products derived
from ruminants and swine from Great Britain or Northern Ireland. USDA’s FMD
policy has been to be proactive and preventive. Products dated after Jan. 14 are
not permitted entry into the U.S.
Here are
other steps that have been taken by USDA and ODA.
USDA is
increasing awareness by officials and passengers at international ports of
entry. ODA has offered manpower assistance to USDA to help accomplish this goal.
ODA is
hosting educational meetings throughout Ohio with producers and veterinarians as
well as FFA groups, Young Farmers groups, and Rotary Clubs.
ODA has
issued a revised a biosecurity protocol to various farm inspectors working for
ODA as well as other state agencies.
ODA has
lent a veterinary medical officer to take part in a 30-day mission to the U.K.
to assist and observe the control measures being taken there.
There is
increased surveillance at and communication with livestock markets, livestock
concentration yards, and farms, including garbage feeders, by ODA personnel.
ODA has
hosted meetings with other state agencies regarding biosecurity and the
potential implementation of an emergency response plan.
ODA is
involved in regular briefings with USDA and other state agriculture directors.
ODA, in
concert with USDA, continues to submit suspicious samples to Plum Island.
One last
thing – to help prevent foot-and-mouth disease in Ohio, people should watch
out for its symptoms in animal herds and immediately report any unusual or
suspicious signs of the disease to a veterinarian, to state or federal animal
disease control officials, or to their county agricultural agent.
Ohioans
and the nation have grown increasingly concerned about the neurological disease
in cattle called BSE, or “Mad Cow Disease,” as cases continue to be reported
in some European countries. The question on everyone’s mind is: Will it be
found here?
It
is important to note again that BSE has never been detected in cattle herds in
this country nor have any human illnesses been linked to BSE here. The United
States has an aggressive BSE surveillance program, and we have been guarding
against this disease for many years.
BSE is
an incurable, degenerative disease affecting the central nervous system of
cattle. It was first diagnosed in Britain in 1986. There is a similar disease in
humans called Creutzfeldt-Jacob Disease, or CJD, a rare but fatal disease
typically striking those over 55 years. CJD occurs worldwide at an estimated
annual rate of one case per million; about 10-15 percent of the cases are
inherited. In its classic form, it is not suspected to be linked to BSE.
However,
scientists believe there is a link between BSE in cattle and a variant form of
CJD, or v-CJD, found in several European residents, all of whom were under 45
and many of whom were teenagers. This disease is similar to classic CJD, except
that it begins with psychiatric symptoms, earlier loss of coordination, and
later onset of dementia. It also progresses more slowly than classic CJD. All of
these diseases are classified as transmissible spongiform encephalopathies, or
TSEs, which are degenerative brain diseases that affect humans and animals.
Neither BSE nor v-CJD has been detected in the United States.
BSE is
unlike FMD in many ways. To recap, BSE is not known to affect any livestock but
cattle. BSE is believed to spread through consumption of certain contaminated
bovine tissue such as bone marrow and brain tissue. The infectious agent for BSE
is a mutated protein called a “prion,” and is not easily killed. BSE is
considered a public health threat – it is thought to cause variant-CJD in
humans, an incurable brain disease. BSE has been found only in the U.K. and
Europe.
In July
of 1988, the U.K. instituted a ban on feeding ruminant protein back to cattle.
As the chart shows, it took four years for this ban to have a positive effect on
the incidence of BSE in the U.K.
As with
our efforts to keep FMD out of the U.S., Ohio is part of a federal-state effort
led by USDA to take several concrete measures to keep BSE from our shores. Here
are some examples:
In 1989,
USDA banned the importation of cattle from BSE-infected countries.
In 1997,
the FDA prohibited the use of ruminant protein in cattle feed.
The
United States has the most aggressive BSE surveillance program of any country in
the world where the disease has not been identified. We maintain surveillance
for BSE in our cattle herds through observation of clinical signs in animals and
laboratory testing of suspect animals.
As
part of a nationwide effort, the Ohio Department of Agriculture plays a
significant role in BSE surveillance through submission of animals for testing
at the federal lab in Ames, Iowa, and inspecting feed manufacturers and
renderers for proper labeling.
USDA,
working with the states, has euthanized or put under permanent quarantine all
animals believed to have been exposed to BSE.
Starting
April 1, some major U.S. meat packers will require producers to assure that
animals have not been fed a prohibited feed.
The
United States is known for having the safest and cheapest food supply in the
world. To help ensure its safety, the USDA and FDA have worked hard for more
than 10 years to keep BSE from entering our country. As a partner in this
effort, ODA educates veterinarians, meat processors, and farmers on clinical
signs of central nervous system disorders in animals.
None
of the samples submitted from any animal showing symptoms of such disorders to
the national surveillance program, from Ohio or across the country, has been
positive for BSE. ODA continues to work with animal renders and feed
manufacturers to verify they uphold FDA bans on restricted practices. All of
this effort falls under ODA’s mission to protect consumers and farmers in
Ohio.
6. Emergency Response
Despite
our best efforts to prevent invasion by these diseases, we must be prepared for
that possibility. Fighting infectious animal diseases is not new to Ohio or ODA.
These
pictures show some of the everyday activities by ODA’s technical staff -- from
on-farm inspections to the most sophisticated laboratory testing -- to identify
and control animal diseases in Ohio. A key part of this effort is the work of
the Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory, the top lab of its kind in the state
and one of only a few nationally accredited veterinary labs in the country. I
think it’s important to note the work being done at this laboratory would not
have been possible without the support of you and the rest of the Ohio General
Assembly.
We
follow three priorities in fighting infectious animal diseases in Ohio, and
these practices have allowed us to control and eradicate other infectious animal
diseases in Ohio in the recent past, including pseudorabies, brucellosis, and
tuberculosis.
These
three priorities are disease identification, stopping animal movement, and
destroying infections. Focusing on them, along with coordination among various
agencies such as the Ohio Emergency Management Agency and OSU Extension and many
others, will be key to an effective response to an incursion by FMD or any
foreign animal disease in an Ohio herd.
Let
me walk you through an overview of our response plan depicted in the flow chart
you have in your information packets. (Click
here for emergency response flow chart.) (Note: READEO is the acronym for
Regional Emergency Animal Disease Eradication Organization.)
Many
organizations, especially state agencies, will play key roles in working with
ODA and OEMA to contain any outbreak and eradicate a foreign animal disease.
Let me highlight another chart, also in your information packets, that shows
what each agency’s role would be in such an emergency response situation. (Click
here for “Overview of Agency/Office Support Needs.”)
I think
it’s worth noting that this plan would not be possible without the legislative
authority granted ODA and other state agencies to respond quickly and
effectively to highly contagious infectious animal diseases. For that we are
thankful to you and the rest of the Ohio General Assembly.
Mr.
Chairman, members of the committee, I can confidently say ODA and others in the
state administration have thoughtfully prepared for the possibility of an
incursion by FMD or BSE or any other dangerous foreign animal disease in Ohio,
and that we are improving our planning and inter-agency cooperation and
communication on an ongoing basis.
At the
same time, it’s also true that nothing will fully prepare Ohio for the
difficulties we will face if these diseases invade our state.
This is
why I cannot emphasize enough the importance of taking proper precautions on our
farms, in our food processing, and in our travels. While these diseases continue
to spread elsewhere in the world, it is important that we all have a heightened
awareness about how they could spread to farms in Ohio and the U.S. -- and that
we do all we can to prevent it.
I hope that my briefing today has
helped answer your questions about the nature of FMD and BSE and our plans to
guard against them. I would like to note once again that they are not in the U.S
because of a federal and state network of preventative measures – and that
should they or any foreign animal disease reach our shores, that plans are in
place to control and eradicate them quickly and effectively.
