Livestock guardian dogs can ease your worries

Foot and Mouth Disease

The Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (Daff) in South Africa ha reported that the number of confirmed positive locations since the start of outbreak in January 2019 had risen to 15, with more than 130 points identified with possible links to specific auctions and affected properties. Along with other measures, the South African government has banned livestock auctions to aid in controlling the outbreak. However, this measure puts their farmers and ranchers in an economic crisis.

With a strong tie to the South African farming communities, Boer Goat breeders need to be aware of the ban on the exportation of any livestock from South Africa. Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences recently offered the first-ever field training for North American private-sector veterinarians and state and federal animal health officials for foot-and-mouth disease.

The training included hands-on experience in the diagnosis and investigation of a real outbreak in a foot-and-mouth disease-endemic country. Training covered foot-and-mouth disease pathogenesis, clinical diagnosis, laboratory testing, epidemiology, outbreak investigation and biosecurity. It also equipped participants to pass-on the training they receive to others back home after the course.

Foot-and-mouth disease is a severe, extremely contagious viral disease of cloven-hoofed animals such as cattle, swine, sheep, goats and deer.

While the U.S., Canada and Mexico have not experienced an occurrence of foot-and-mouth disease since 1929, 1952 and 1954, respectively, globally, the disease is endemic in many countries in Asia, the Middle East and large parts of Africa. It also continues to be seen in some parts of Europe along with sporadic outbreaks in South America.

“The U.S. livestock industries and animal health officials have been working on U.S. foot-and-mouth disease preparedness plans for many years,” said Elizabeth Parker, DVM, AgriLife Research. “The need for this training is at an all-time high for U.S. veterinarians working with livestock. The recent rapid spread of African swine fever across Asia reminds us of the need to be vigilant and increase our preparedness for foreign animal diseases such as African swine fever and foot-and-mouth disease. If the U.S. had an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease, early detection is key, and our private sector veterinarians will most likely be the boots on the ground to help regulatory animal health officials implement the daily response.”

“The return of foot-and-mouth disease to the U.S. is one of the biggest threats to our industry,” said Colin Woodall, chief executive officer for the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association. “It is important that courses like this are used to help educate, train and prepare large animal vets and industry experts to help us respond quickly and decisively. Preparation and prevention are key, and this course will help with both.”

The training course showed participants how to safely examine livestock without spreading the disease between farms; how to age lesions and take foot-and-mouth disease diagnostic samples; understand what the U.S. regulations will require; and how to help clients develop a biosecurity plan specific for their operations to minimize the odds of an outbreak on their farm or ranch.

2018 JABGA SPONSOR

• Live Internet Bidding • Online Webcast of Auctions • Pre-Bidding and Absentee Bidding • Tag/On Farm Sales • Online Only Auctions

Be sure to contact us to book your upcoming auction to be broadcast online!

“Private veterinarians play a vital role in protecting the U.S. dairy herd from foot-and-mouth disease,” said Jamie Jonker, Ph.D., vice president Key Facts on FMD for sustainability and scientific affairs for the National Milk Producers Federation. “Hands-on Foot and mouth disease (FMD) is a transboundary animal training opportunities to observe foot-and-mouth disease (TAD) that severely affect the production of livestock and disease are an excellent opportunity for dairy disrupting regional and international trade in animals and animal veterinarians to hone their skills in protecting the products. U.S. dairy herd from the disease.” The disease is estimated to circulate in 77% of the global live-

Foot-and-mouth disease is not a food safety stock population, in Africa, the Middle East and Asia, as well as in a or public health threat, but it does pose a serious limited area of South America. Countries that are currently free of economic risk to the U.S. agricultural and food FMD remain under constant threat of an incursion. industry due to large-scale production losses and Seventy-five percent of the costs attributed to FMD prevention severe restrictions on international trade. Control and control are incurred by low income and lower-middle income and eradication costs could also be significant. Ac- countries. Africa and Eurasia are the regions which incur the largest cording to USDA, research suggests an outbreak costs, accounting for 50% and 33% of the total costs respectively. in the U.S. could result in losses of $15 billion to The morbidity rate may approach 100% in susceptible cattle pop$100 billion, depending on the duration of the ulations. A global strategy for the control of FMD was endorsed in outbreak, the extent of trade restrictions and 2012. consumer reactions.

“We are proud to offer this course, the first of its kind for North America, to give our veterinarians the resources and training to properly and safely manage a potentially catastrophic disease among our nation’s livestock,” said Eleanor M. Green, DVM and the Carl B. King Dean of Veterinary Medicine at Texas A&M.

The European Commission for the Control of Foot-and-Mouth Disease has been offering this training for over 10 years for other countries, but this is the first opportunity designed specifically for North America. A field veterinarian from U.S. Department of Agriculture-Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service will also take part during each training to discuss the specifics of a U.S. response.

Dr. Burke Healy, US Chief Veterinarian and Veterinary Services Deputy Administrator for USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service said, “While we’ve been able to send a few veterinarians to a European course in the past, having a course hosted by a U.S. institution will mean that many more U.S. veterinarians will be able to participate. Private practitioners play an important role in helping us detect foreign animal diseases like foot-and-mouth disease or African swine fever, should they ever occur in the United States, giving us a better chance to catch a disease before it is widespread.”

First Company Email City Phone Number

OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE AMERICAN BOER GOAT ASSOCIATION

Last

State Zip 4 FULL ISSUES FOR ONLY

$35

Mail completed subscription card with payment or credit card information to: ABGA; 4258 S Jackson St.; San Angelo, TX 76903. Once Address

your subscription card is received, you will receive an email confirmation from ABGA to verify your method of payment and information.