Chapter 9 - Recent Animal Disease Outbreaks and Lessons Learned

Abstract

Foreign animal diseases (FADs) are particularly serious problems because recognition of those diseases may not be as acute among animal health practitioners and there is unlikely to be any herd immunity in the susceptible population of animals. Animal disease outbreaks may occur for several reasons. The origin of the outbreak could be natural, accidental, or intentional. Chapter 9 presents specific FADs and details of some recent outbreaks. Specifically, classical swine fever, bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), foot and mouth disease (FMD), and highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) are covered herein. As an example, the 2001 FMD outbreak in the United Kingdom provides evidence of the devastating effects of widespread FAD introductions. When finally brought under control, nearly 8million cattle were slaughtered with an estimated cost of $20billion. BSE currently threatens the beef industry and has serious implications for human health. This cryptic and debilitating disease affects cattle and human hosts in much the same way, with a long incubation period and no treatment. Officials in the United Kingdom have been battling the presence of BSE in their nation since 1997. HPAI outbreaks have resulted in the slaughter of hundreds of millions of poultry birds in the past 15years.