Foot-and-Mouth Disease Summit Set

Foot-and-mouth disease is one of the animal diseases that livestock owners around the world dread the most. As witnessed with the 2001 FMD crisis in Great Britain, the disease can spread widely and rapidly among animal populations wreaking havoc with a region’s economy.

To address the threat of FMD and strengthen the livestock industry’s defenses against this potentially devastating disease, a special summit will be held in Billings, Wed, Dec. 12, 2007.

“Our beef producers recognize that this disease could grow from a local problem to a national crisis literally in a matter of hours,” said Charlene Schuster, Billings, Mont, executive director of the Montana Beef Council. “This summit is designed to address the issues related top preventing, detecting and responding to a FMD crisis in this country.”

The summit is a joint effort of the Montana Beef Council and the Montana Beef Quality Assurance program at Montana State University.

The summit will showcase information generated from other FMD cases and investigations, outline government crisis planning and present an opportunity to discuss critical issues related to preventing, detecting and responding to a FMD outbreak in this country.

FMD is a severe, highly communicable viral disease of cattle and swine. It also affects sheep, goats, deer, and other cloven-hooved ruminants. FMD is not recognized as a human disease. The United States has been free of FMD since 1929, when the last of nine U.S. outbreaks was eradicated.

The disease is characterized by fever and blister-like lesions followed by erosions on the tongue and lips, in the mouth, on the teats, and between the hooves. Many affected animals recover, but the disease leaves them debilitated. It causes severe losses in the production of meat and milk.

“We responded to producers’ concerns about FMD with a program that’s gaining a tremendous amount of regional attention,” said Clint Peck, Billings, Mont, director of Montana Beef Quality Assurance. “We invite anyone interested in discussing this important national health issue to join us in Billings in December.”

There’s no registration fee for the event, but RSVP’s are required. Contact Schuster at 406-656-3336 (charlene@montanabeefcouncil.org) or Peck at 406-896-9068 (cpeck@montana.edu).

Foot-and-Mouth Disease Summit

Region V Federation of State Beef Councils

Montana, Wyoming, Idaho, Washington, Oregon

Colorado

Wed. Dec. 12, 2007, Billings Hotel & Convention Center

8:00 – Introductory Remarks

8:30 – Implications of FMD outbreak

-          Probability/possibility

-          Impact/effect

9:00 – National FMD Picture

-          Current national plan

-          National vulnerability assessment

10:00 – Break

10:30 – National, state and local government roles

-          States FMD vulnerability assessment

-          States FMD outbreak response plan

-          Inter-agency coordination/communication plan

Noon – Keynote Speaker (“Strengthening Herd Biosecurity”)

1:00 – Industry perspectives

-          Beef/dairy cattle

-          Sheep/swine

-          Other livestock/wildlife

2:30 – Breakout sessions

-          Transportation/movement issues

-          Remedial/corrective actions

-          Livestock markets/marketing issues

-          Legal authority/local veterinarian’s role

-          Depopulation/disposal/indemnification

4:00 – Reports/discussion from breakout sessions

5:00 – Outcome/future efforts

-          2008 FMD Working Group