A Swine Health Information Center American Association of Swine Veterinarians webinar planned for Friday will look at the identification of Foot and Mouth Disease in three European countries that had maintained negative status for decades. Foot and Mouth Disease, a reportable foreign animal disease that affects cloven hooved animals, has been identified after decades in Germany, Hungary and Slovakia and has resurfaced in South Korea.
In response, the Swine Health Information Center and the American Association of Swine Veterinarians will host a Foot and Mouth Disease webinar Friday, April 25 at 1:00 pm central. SHIC Executive Director Dr. Megan Niederwerder says anytime a virus changes its geographic distribution we need to look what needs to be put into place in North America to prevent incursion.
Clip-Dr. Megan Niederwerder-Swine Health Information Center:
Germany had been negative for 37 years. Hungary had been negative for 52 years and Slovakia had been negative for 52 years so, as you think about that and we think about how the world has changed during that time period and how connected we are globally, we want to think about preventing any risky products from illegally being introduced into the country. That can be any animal products that contribute to spread and illegal trade. Other things are that this virus is very stable.
It is resistant, it is a non enveloped virus that is stable in the environment so when you think about contamination of fomites, clothing, humans again can not become infected by the virus but the can certainly serve as a carrier of the virus if the virus has contaminated their boots for instance. So, we have to continually think about how we are having robust biosecurity protocols and always keeping an eye out for these clinical signs that could indicate a risk of FMD.
The registration link for Friday's webinar can be found at the Swine Health Information Center's website at swinehealth.org or through the American Association of Swine Veterinarians or the Iowa State University Swine Medicine Education Center web sites.
Source : Farmscape.ca