April 11, 2001
Contact: Karen R. Cooper, APR
Montana Department of Livestock
Public Information Officer
406-444-9431
MONTANA ASSISTANT STATE VET IS CALLED TO UK FOR FMD WORK
Dr. Thomas F.T. Linfield with the Montana Department of Livestock is one of a small number of veterinarians from the United States who have been invited to travel to Britain. The group has been requested to travel to the United Kingdom to help local veterinarians and others from around the world work to end the Foot-and-Mouth Disease outbreak. Dr. Linfield, Montana’s Assistant State Veterinarian, will spend 30 days in Britain, with travel, lodging and expenses paid by the U.S.D.A.
Dr. Linfield is working out of the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (MAFF), the equivalent of the United States Department of Agriculture, and has been appointed as a Veterinary Inspector by that organization. This status authorizes him to perform regulatory functions as if he were licensed in the UK. Dr. Linfield is on a month rotation period, and will be returning to the United States at the end of April. His is the second group of veterinarians to participate.
“To be able to see first hand the devastation of the outbreak, and the means and methods of control and eradication, will be invaluable in terms of being prepared for any outbreak that could occur in our region,” Dr. Linfield said when he received the invitation to participate in the program.
Dr. Linfield is the only veterinarian from Montana to participate in the program so far; however, there were approximately 16 other veterinarians that arrived from the U.S. at the same time. Most of the others are with USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS). Four veterinarians, including Dr. Linfield, have been assigned to Worcester, which is approximately two hours west of London. The others from Dr. Linfield’s group were assigned to an area near Scotland.
“Several things are being done to limit the spread of the disease,” Dr. Linfield said through an email to the Montana Department of Livestock. “At this time, livestock movements have been stopped. One problem they are having is getting the animals destroyed and especially disposed of in a timely manner. Once a premise is identified as an infected premise, all premises within 3 km are immediately put on quite strict quarantines and all susceptible animals inspected. Any premises adjacent to the infected premises will also have all susceptible animals destroyed. The adjacent premises (dangerous contacts) are often becoming infected premises before the animals can be destroyed, so it is sometimes difficult to get ahead of it – kind of like trying to put out the forest fires in a dry year!”
The primary animal in the Worcester area is sheep, although there are a number of cattle as well. “Each morning we have a 15-20 minute briefing, usually on current happenings and any problems encountered the previous day,” Dr. Linfield said. The MAFF offices have different rooms for FMD help lines, allocations, tracings, epidemiology, patrols, infected premises, mapping, and more. Calls are received from owners with suspicious animal cases, and the veterinarians go into the field and examine the animals. The veterinarians then contact the main MAFF headquarters in London where additional veterinarians staff the phones to help confirm or rule out FMD. The Worcester office is then contacted. The veterinarians fill out the required paperwork, then return to the MAFF office for debriefing.
Dr. Linfield also reports that there are signs all over stating closures, such as on footpaths, parks, etc.; and disinfectant footbaths are everywhere, even in some restaurants and pubs. “The people here are very good at complying with the requirements of the quarantines,” Dr. Linfield said. “Without their compliance and cooperation, this would be a significantly worse situation. My hat is off to the farmers in the UK.”
As far as other precautions in the UK, Dr. Linfield and other workers follow a strict biosecurity protocol prior to entering and exiting a premise. The protocol includes thorough footbaths, new disposable coveralls for each premise, along with an over-suit (rain gear), which is also scrubbed with a disinfectant. “Basically everything going on or off any farm is covered and disinfected, including all paper work, lab supplies, etc. Vehicles are not allowed on the premises and must be parked at an outside gate,” he added.
The Montana Board of Livestock unanimously agreed that this is a great opportunity for Montana’s Assistant State Veterinarian to learn first hand how to help combat this disease in Montana and the United States, according to Marc Bridges, executive officer of the Department of Livestock. “The Board also appreciates the fact that a member of our department can assist our foreign livestock producer neighbors in this crisis.”
Dr. Linfield will follow the Montana precautions protocol upon returning to the United States and Montana, including having no contact with animals for at least five days. The Montana Foot-and-Mouth Prevention and Response Protocol, and other information on Foot-and-Mouth Disease, is posted on the Montana Department of Livestock web page at www.liv.state.mt.us.
Foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) is a severe, highly communicable disease of cattle and swine. It also affects sheep, goats, deer and other cloven-hoofed ruminants. The disease is characterized by fever and blister-like sores on the tongue and lips, in the mouth, on the teats and between the hooves. Many affected animals recover, but the disease often leaves them debilitated.
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