cfah public service activities
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Foot and Mouth Disease Seminar and Outreach
The recent outbreak of foot and mouth diseases in the United Kingdom caught
the headlines of newspapers and TV channels. The importance of the outbreak
was that surveillance for the disease had declined over the last decade
and the virus found its way into the country in raw garbage. The U.K. has
a surveillance system that was the equivalent to that of the U.S. The fact
the disease appeared in the U.K. was a wake up call to other countries to
remain vigilant. The School of Veterinary Medicine through its Center for
Food Animal Health and Veterinary Extension launched an active and collaborative
effort with state and federal regulatory agencies to raise awareness and
to assist with preparedness. This was done in the following ways:
- Meetings with representatives from the:
- California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA);
- The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) of the U.S.
Department of Agriculture (USDA); and
- Commodity representatives, to review current custom and quarantine
activities and evaluate preparedness.
- Development of information for distribution to print/ TV media about
the characteristics of the disease and the implications for California
animal agriculture for veterinarians, producers and policy makers.
- Collaboration with CDFA and USDA to hold a seminar for over 300 attendees
at Tulare and organized many smaller programs to inform producers and
veterinarians about the disease and what they need to be looking for
when observing livestock and poultry.
- Development of biosecurity models for use by producers to minimize
spread of foot and mouth disease virus.
Disaster Response
California is faced with disasters every year. Some of these are of considerable
magnitude and involve livestock and poultry. The economic impact of disasters
caused by floods, earthquakes, fires, heat and foreign or emerging diseases
can be extensive, resulting in significant economic losses. Many diseases
of animals may have zoonotic potential thereby placing people at risk
for these diseases. In most states, there are designated government agencies
that assume the primary responsibility for coordinating events related
to the emergency. If the livestock and poultry communities are not involved
in the planning and coordination of the agencies, they have no place at
the time of an emergency. Veterinary extension has taken the lead in developing
a set of guidelines that veterinarians, farm advisors and others need
to review and become proactive members of the community planning associated
with these disasters. These guidelines are the first of their kind and
are available both on the Web and in card copy.
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