April 18, 2001. . . Oregon Department of Agriculture field veterinarian Dr. Brad LeaMaster has seen the look of despair on the faces of British farmers. He has heard the despondent tone of their voices and has felt the air of frustration that hangs like a dark cloud over the entire nation of Great Britain. Foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) has impacted lives in a way not always captured on the evening news.

"You can feel the tension the minute you arrive at Heathrow Airport in London," says LeaMaster. "There is a lot of disillusionment. It just keeps dragging on and on. People are exhausted from dealing with foot-and-mouth disease."

LeaMaster has just returned to Oregon after a 30-day volunteer stint in England, assisting British authorities in a massive effort to control an explosive outbreak of one of the worst diseases to affect livestock. LeaMaster not only provided much needed veterinary help for the British, he learned more about FMD, which will come in handy should an outbreak occur in the United States for the first time since 1929.

Foot-and-mouth is a severe, highly communicable viral disease of cattle, swine, 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 around the hooves and between the toes. FMD leaves them debilitated, causing severe losses in meat and milk production. It is not a food safety problem, but a production problem. Herds exposed to the virus are destroyed. To date, 1341 cases of FMD have been reported in the U.K. and more than a million animals slaughtered.

LeaMaster, normally based in Eastern Oregon, was assigned to Devon County, southwest of London. He learned how real the disease is and that its impact is not confined to the livestock industry. The economic ripple effect has hit all kinds of businesses to the tune of an estimated $150 million per week.

"It has had a profound impact on people's lives-- from the farmer whose animals are taken from him up through the communities themselves," he says. "Tourism has ground to a halt. People and their livelihoods are affected, all the way up to the government. This disease could bring down [Prime Minister] Tony Blair's government. The longer this goes on, the less popular he is becoming."

One message LeaMaster is bringing home to Oregon is that there is no such thing as a small outbreak of FMD.

"Watching foot-and-mouth move through the countryside as it has in England is overwhelming," he says. "Its so contagious. I gained a huge respect for the disease."

LeaMaster also saw the personal tragedy such an outbreak causes.

"One farm I visited raised registered Friesian cattle," says LeaMaster. "The grandfather had started the business in 1958. Family members were leaders in their

field, seeking out the best genetics and embryo transplants. Then the disease hit. All of that is gone. A whole lifetime of work gone."

LeaMaster is aware of another tragic result of foot-and-mouth disease. A farmer had his entire herd destroyed a few years ago because of an outbreak of BSE-- commonly known as mad cow disease-- and started up his farm again only to lose all his animals one more time due to FMD. The farmer committed suicide.

While on assignment, long days were the norm for LeaMaster. Working as one of 30 two-person teams, the veterinarian and a technician made about thirty visits to farms in the countryside. Three inspections per day, seven days a week. The grueling pace was interrupted only when LeaMaster came across an infected site. That happened twice during his four weeks in the U.K. One farm had about 2500 sheep and 50 cattle. The other was smaller, about 300 sheep and 50 cattle.

"By the time we arrived, the farmer was already worried," says LeaMaster. "He knew something was very wrong with the animals. I saw the classic signs-- the fluid-filled blisters in the mouths and the feet. Animals with high temperatures. It was never one single animal."

The diagnosis and confirmation set off a cascade of paperwork and procedures that always ended with a restriction on the movement of animals, equipment, and people from the infected farm. Adjacent property owners were soon inspected. A valuator would then arrive with an appraisal of the herd's worth. The animals were purchased on the spot and destroyed soon after. Carcasses were either burned, buried, or hauled off in large trucks to a rendering plant. LeaMaster and the technician remained on site in both cases to supervise the cleanup and disinfecting.

"When you find an infected property, a quarantine is imposed," says LeaMaster. "Police enforce it. The roads and lanes are blockaded and movement is restricted. It is very strict. The farmers don't move. The children don't move or go to school."

Humans are not susceptible to FMD but can serve as carriers. The virus can exist on a person's clothing or hair or even respiratory system for many days. LeaMaster himself observed a two week safety period after returning to the U.S.

"I didn't want to go down in history as the person who brought foot-and-mouth disease back to America," he says.

LeaMaster says the U.S. is fortunate to so far avoid the disease. He urges international travelers to take precautions and heed warnings to stay away from infected areas. He has learned to spot symptoms of FMD very well, and has confidence that ODA and other animal health officials can respond quickly to any outbreak. But it may not be enough to keep such a paralyzing disease in check should the public or the farm community relax. He has seen foot-and-mouth disease and its path of destruction in a country across the Atlantic.

For more information, contact Bruce Pokarney at (503) 986-4559.