Outbreak Of Foot Research Articles

Quantitative risk assessment case study : smuggled meats as disease vectors

Outbreaks of foot and mouth disease (FMD), African swine fever (ASF), classical swine fever (CSF) and swine vesicular disease (SVD) can cause significant economic and social costs and severe trade limitations. A number of commodities may be contaminated with these hazards, including meat and meat products derived from infected animals. Great Britain (GB) enforces a number of regulations to prevent the importation of such pathogens. However, the illegal importation of meat provides a route by which controls may be circumvented and pathogens imported. This paper discusses a series of risk assessments examining the disease risk to the GB livestock population of FMD, CSF, ASF and SVD from the illegal importation of any meat product from any region in the world. This paper describes the development of a quantitative risk assessment model designed to identify the major contributors to this risk, and discusses the challenges posed when undertaking such complex risk assessments.

Capital Costs: Lottery Funding in Britain and the Consequences for Museums

Funding for London museums has increased enormously in recent years. The lottery has contributed hundreds of millions of pounds for capital developments; central government revenue in the tens of millions goes to funding free admission to the national museums and galleries. The research described in this paper focuses on museums that opened lottery-funded capital projects in 2000, and on the relationship between this additional funding and museum attendance. The authors found that the extra money led to extra visits—and for the first time attempted to calculate what those visits cost. This research also looks at whether people chose improved museums over other museums, and briefly investigates the impact on attendance of the outbreak of foot and mouth disease and the downturn in tourism following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.

Simulating the spatial dynamics of foot and mouth disease outbreaks in feral pigs and livestock in Queensland, Australia, using a susceptible-infected-recovered cellular automata model

We describe an approach to modelling the spatio-temporal spread of foot and mouth disease through feral animal and unfenced livestock populations. We used a susceptible-infected-recovered model, implemented in a cellular automata framework, to assess the spread of FMD across two regions of Queensland, Australia. Following a sensitivity analysis on the infectious states, scenario analyses were conducted using feral pigs only as the susceptible population, and then with the addition of livestock, and initiated in the wet season and in the dry season. The results indicate that, depending on the season the outbreak is initiated, and without the implementation of control measures, an outbreak of Foot and Mouth Disease around Winton could continue unchecked, while an outbreak around Cape York may die out naturally. The approach explicitly incorporates the spatial relationships between the populations through which the disease spreads and provides a framework by which the spread of disease outbreaks can be explored through varying the model parameters. It highlights the emergence and importance of spatio-temporal patterns, something that previous modelling of FMD in feral animal and unfenced livestock populations has lacked.

Poetic Justice? Rural policy clashes with rural poetry in the 2001 outbreak of foot and mouth disease in the UK

In 2001, the foot and mouth disease epidemic in the UK gave rise to widespread individual and community trauma and has had negative health, economic and social impacts on the people who live in affected rural areas. Many found strength by sharing their experiences with friends and relatives; others expressed their feelings in poems and art. Using insights from linguistics, cultural studies and rural studies, this paper analyses three poems written by a former farmer, a poet and a vet from the three most affected regions: Devon, Northumberland and Cumbria. It examines how an analysis of this type of ‘grounded poetry’ can provide new insights into individual and community trauma, how it can complement other work on FMD in rural studies and how it can be used to improve social policy decisions regarding future outbreaks of animal disease.

Sporadic cryptosporidiosis decline after membrane filtration of public water supplies, England, 1996-2002.

The incidence of sporadic cryptosporidiosis among 106,000 residents of 2 local government districts in northwest England before and after installation of membrane filtration of public water supplies was compared to that of 59,700 residents whose public water supplies remained unchanged. A national outbreak of foot and mouth disease in livestock during 2001 was associated with a decline in sporadic human cryptosporidiosis in all regions of the United Kingdom. In a Poisson regression model, membrane filtration was associated with an estimated 79% reduction (incidence ratio 0.207, 95% confidence intervals 0.099-0.431, p < 0.0001) after adjustment for the interval of the foot and mouth disease epidemic and the water source. Despite the confounding effect of that epidemic, membrane filtration of the public water supply was effective in reducing the risk for sporadic human Cryptosporidium infection in this population.

Stress and stereotypes: children's reactions to the outbreak of foot and mouth disease in the UK in 2001

In 2001 foot and mouth disease broke out in the UK and millions of farm animals were slaughtered in order to eradicate it. This affected farmers, town dwellers, adults and children. Based on a small sample of 56 e-mails to a children's BBC (CBBC) message board and using an ethnomethodological approach, this article explores the way in which children in rural and urban areas responded to the effects of this epidemic and how they structured their understandings of one another through the use of rural and urban stereotypes. It shows that the stress felt by some of the children who lived on or near infected farms during the outbreak was exacerbated by the fact that they felt misunderstood by other children living in surroundings not directly affected by foot and mouth disease.

Dioxins and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCDD/Fs and PCBs) in food from farms close to foot and mouth disease animal pyres

To control the outbreak of foot and mouth disease, which occurred in the UK in early 2001, a large number of farm animals were slaughtered. Where it was not possible to render or landfill the carcasses, they were destroyed by burning on open pyres, with wood, coal and other materials. Uncontrolled combustion such as this is known to produce small quantities of dioxins and an investigation was made into whether, as a result of the burning, there was an elevation in the concentrations of these compounds in food produced in the areas close to the pyres. With few exceptions, concentrations of PCDD/Fs and PCBs were within the expected ranges as predicted by reference data. No accumulation over time was evident from a repeat milk sampling exercise. Where elevated concentrations of PCDD/Fs and PCBs were found in chickens and eggs, they were in samples not destined for the food chain. Elevated levels in some samples of milk from Dumfries and Galloway were not found in earlier or later samples and may have been found as a result of a temporary feeding regime. Elevated concentrations in lamb from Carmarthenshire were from very young animals which would not have entered the food chain. There was no evidence of any significant increase in dietary exposure to PCDD/Fs and PCBs as a result of the FMD pyres.

Foot and mouth disease in Mali: the current situation and proposed control strategies

Two main reasons prompted the authors to write this paper. First, outbreaks of foot and mouth disease (FMD) have occurred repeatedly in Mali and neighbouring countries during the last decade. Secondly, there is a pressing need for control strategies, since the first molecular epidemiological studies of FMD virus in West Africa have demonstrated that FMD transmission across national boundaries is common in this region. The authors discuss the FMD outbreaks that occurred during the period of 1980 to 1996, which were reported to the Central Livestock Office in Mali by field veterinarians. The outbreaks in 1980 and 1982 were confined to the regions of Kayes and Gao, respectively. Between 1991 and 1992, outbreaks occurred in Segou, Sikasso and Bamako. In 1996, FMD outbreaks were reported in cattle populations throughout Mali, except in Kidal in the Sahara desert, where temperatures reach 45 degrees C. High mortality was reported in young animals, while morbidity approached 100% in adult cattle.

Tourism demand patterns in turbulent times: analysing Welsh accommodation occupancy data for 1998–2001

AbstractDifferent events in 2001, most notably an outbreak of foot and mouth disease and the 11 September terrorist attacks in the USA, caused many tourist businesses in the UK to experience significant changes in demand volumes. This paper examines the occupancy performance of serviced accommodation establishments in Wales from 1998 to 2001 and focuses especially on the changes in demand patterns in 2001. The approach is based on a combination of principal components and cluster analysis. The results are used to group establishments with similar performance profiles. Detailed conclusions are drawn about the temporal and spatial shifts in demand in 2001. ‘Winners’ and ‘losers’ are identified and several concrete implications for marketing and development policies are discussed. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley &amp; Sons, Ltd.

The potential of NH3, N2O and CH4 measurements following the 2001 outbreak of Foot and Mouth Disease in Great Britain to reduce the uncertainties in agricultural emissions abatement

There is substantial uncertainty in the effectiveness of measures to reduce emissions of agricultural trace gases, including ammonia (NH3), methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O). The only way to test whether emission abatement programmes are successful is through monitoring of air concentrations and deposition. However, where NH3 emissions have been reduced in Europe, either through abatement policies or reductions in agricultural activity, it was difficult to demonstrate the link with reduced concentrations and deposition. The outbreak of Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) in Great Britain in 2001 provides a major case study to test the link between agricultural emissions and air concentrations. This paper examines the spatial distribution of anticipated change in emissions and concentrations of NH3, CH4 and N2O as a result of the FMD outbreak. It then assesses the extent to which atmospheric monitoring could be used to detect the changes and attribute them to the effect of FMD. Two of the areas worst affected by FMD were selected for detailed analysis: in Cumbria (N.W. England) and in Devon (S.W. England). Compared with values prior to FMD, average agricultural emissions were reduced by as much as 50–100%, with estimated reductions in atmospheric mixing ratios of 0.7–3.3 ppb for NH3, 10–60 ppb for CH4 and 0.1–0.7 ppb for N2O. For NH3 and CH4, modelled changes are larger than the precision of analytical techniques and, where sampling is made at replicate sites, the changes are also larger than the inter-annual variability of existing monitoring data. By contrast, for N2O only the largest changes occurring in Cumbria are expected to be detectable and distinguishable from inter-annual variability. Based on the results, a measurement strategy has been established to follow NH3 and CH4 concentrations during and after the period of restocking. By comparing NH3 (a reactive gas) with CH4 (an inert tracer), the measurements aim to distinguish constraints on the link between changing emissions and air concentrations. Improving this linkage is essential to demonstrate that the economic costs of emission abatement translate into environmental benefits.

A Local Reading of a Global Disaster

This paper describes the events of 2001 in South West England and explores their wider messages for the management of tourism in the region. The year 2001 was an annus horribilis for the region, witnessing as it did, first of all, an outbreak of Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) and later, as the region began to emerge from its first crisis, the unfolding events of 09/11. This sequence of events is used as a lens through which to inspect the interaction of three sets of obviously overlapping tourism management approaches. This fusion reveals that important contradictions and tensions exist between the claims, assumptions and practices of contemporary tourism governance. A more strategic approach to the concept of risk is required in the UK tourist “industry” since the prevailing principles and imperatives of tourism governance may have frustrated the response to events in 2001.

The current status and future of commercial embryo transfer in cattle

A commercially viable cattle embryo transfer (ET) industry was established in North America during the early 1970s, approximately 80 years after the first successful embryo transfer was reported in a mammal. Initially, techniques for recovering and transferring cattle embryos were exclusively surgical. However, by the late 1970s, most embryos were recovered and transferred nonsurgically. Successful cryopreservation of embryos was widespread by the early 1980s, followed by the introduction of embryo splitting, in vitro procedures, direct transfer of frozen embryos and sexing of embryos. The wide spread adoption of ethylene glycol as a cryoprotectant has simplified the thaw-transfer procedures for frozen embryos. The number of embryos recovered annually has not grown appreciably over the last 10 years in North America and Europe; however, there has been significant growth of commercial ET in South America. Within North America, ET activity has been relatively constant in Holstein cattle, whereas there has been a large ET increase in the Angus breed and a concomitant ET decrease in some other beef breeds. Although a number of new technologies have been adopted within the ET industry in the last decade, the basic procedure of superovulation of donor cattle has undergone little improvement over the last 20 years. The export–import of frozen cattle embryos has become a well-established industry, governed by specific health regulations. The international movement of embryos is subject to sudden and dramatic disturbances, as exemplified by the 2001 outbreak of foot and mouth disease in Great Britain. It is probable that there will be an increased influence of animal rights issues on the ET industry in the future. Several companies in North America are currently commercially producing cloned cattle. The sexing of bovine semen with the use of flow cytometry is extremely accurate and moderate pregnancy rates in heifers have been achieved in field trials, but sexed semen currently is available in only a few countries and on an extremely limited basis. As of yet, all programs involving the production of transgenic cattle are experimental in nature.

Foot and mouth epidemic reduces cases of human cryptosporidiosis in Scotland.

In Scotland, rates of cryptosporidiosis infection in humans peak during the spring, a peak that is coincident with the peak in rates of infection in farm animals (during lambing and calving time). Here we show that, during the outbreak of foot and mouth disease (FMD) in 2001, there was a significant reduction in human cases of cryptosporidiosis infection in southern Scotland, where FMD was present, whereas, in the rest of Scotland, there was a reduction in cases that was not significant. We associate the reduction in human cases of cryptosporidiosis infection with the reduction in the number of young farm animals, together with restrictions on movement of both farm animals and humans, during the outbreak of FMD in 2001. We further show that, during 2002, there was recovery in the rate of cryptosporidiosis infection in humans throughout Scotland, particularly in the FMD-infected area, but that rates of infection remained lower, though not significantly, than pre-2001 levels.

The present and future organisation of Veterinary Services in Asia: the examples of the Republic of Korea and Japan

The Veterinary Services of the Republic of Korea and Japan are reviewed and summarised. To cope with ever-increasing demands on Veterinary Services, both countries have made continued efforts to expand the services, which currently only have a limited number of government personnel. To overcome some of the problems associated with international trade, e.g. outbreaks of foot and mouth disease and classical swine fever (hog cholera), the authorities of the Republic of Korea are considering strengthening quarantine services by combining the National Veterinary Research and Quarantine Service and the National Plant Quarantine Service of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (MAF). In the field of veterinary public health services, the Republic of Korea and Japan have different organisational structures. All Veterinary Services, including veterinary public health, are kept within the MAF in the Republic of Korea, whereas in Japan, the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) deals with general animal production and health services and the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW) deals with the safety of animal products, food poisoning and the prevention/control of zoonoses, such as rabies and Q fever. In Japan, after the occurrence of bovine spongiform encephalopathy in 2001, the authorities undertook a thorough review of the Veterinary Services, focusing particularly on food safety. A reorganisation of the administrative structure was proposed, and will be completed by the end of 2003. Subject to the approval of the Diet (House of Councillors), an independent 'Food Safety Commission' will be created within the cabinet office which will undertake risk analyses related to foods, and risk management will be carried out by the relevant ministry, i.e. the MAFF or the MHLW. The Animal Health Division of the MAFF will also be moved from the Livestock Industry Department to a new 'Consumer Safety Department' of the MAFF, where additional responsibilities in fish health control and feed safety control will be assumed.

How to promote joint participation of the public and private sectors in the organisation of animal health programmes

It is generally accepted that the first recorded outbreaks of foot and mouth disease (FMD) in South America occurred around 1870. The disease emerged almost simultaneously in the province of Buenos Aires (Argentina), in the central region of Chile, in Uruguay and in southern Brazil, due to the introduction of livestock from Europe. Argentina set up an agency for the control and eradication of FMD in 1961, Brazil began disease-control activities in Rio Grande do Sul in 1965, Paraguay and Uruguay initiated similar programmes in 1967, Chile in 1970 and Colombia in 1972. A common characteristic was observed in all early national FMD programmes, namely, they were developed, financed, operated and evaluated by the public sector, without major participation from the private sector, except when buying vaccines and abiding by the regulations. In 1987, the Hemispheric Foot and Mouth Disease Eradication Plan (PHEFA: Plan Hemisférico para la Erradicación de la Fiebre Aftosa) was launched and the private sector played a prominent role in achieving the eradication and control of FMD in several countries. However, this model of co-participation between the public and private sectors has suffered setbacks and a new approach is being developed to find ways in which local structures and activities can be self-sustaining.

Foot and mouth disease and cryptosporidiosis: possible interaction between two emerging infectious diseases.

During 2001, a large outbreak of foot and mouth disease occurred in the United Kingdom, during which approximately 2,030 confirmed cases of the disease were reported, >6 million animals were slaughtered, and strict restrictions on access to the countryside were imposed. We report a dramatic decline in the reported incidence of human cryptosporidiosis in northwest England during weeks 13–38 in 2001, compared with the previous 11 years. This decline coincided with the period of foot and mouth restrictions. No similar reduction occurred in the other 26 weeks of the year. We also noted a substantial decline in the proportion of human infections caused by the bovine strain (genotype 2) of Cryptosporidium parvum during weeks 13–38 that year but not during the other weeks.

GM technologies – opportunities and threats of applying GM technology in less developed and developed countries

The Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) confidently predict that the demand for meat will increase by 50 percent between 2000 and 2020 and for eggs by 25percent over the same period. They predict that the growth in demand will be greatest for pigs and poultry products. This challenge will be met through increases in production and productivity.Increases in demand will be driven a combination of population increase and economic growth. The greatest increases will be in the rapidly growing economies of Asia – particularly in India and China. While local production meet much of the growing and diversifying needs of consumers it is also inevitable that international trade in animal products will grow. As the wealth of consumers increase so will their tastes diversify together with their interest in sources of food and choice. BSE and outbreaks of foot and mouth have focused consumer interests on food safety issues and have in part contributed to concerns over the production and use of genetically modified organisms.

How predictable were the outbreaks of foot and mouth disease in Europe in 2001 and is vaccination the answer?

The author raises three important questions on the outbreaks of foot and mouth disease (FMD) in Europe in 2001: were these linked to stopping preventive vaccination, could these outbreaks have been forecast and were they avoidable, and is vaccination an efficient tool to control outbreaks? The replies to these questions are based on recent history of FMD in Europe. The author demonstrates that the 2001 outbreaks were not linked to ceasing vaccination in Europe in 1991. He also attempts to understand the reasons which encouraged the United Kingdom not to use vaccination to halt the progression of the disease, despite the clear demonstration that vaccination is a useful tool in arresting the spread of an epidemic. In conclusion, the author suggests that substantial changes to European policy for FMD control used for the past ten years are not necessary, but that recourse to emergency vaccination should be considered as an important control option in the future. This option should be optimised by ensuring that differential serological tests are performed in parallel with emergency vaccination, thereby enabling the identification and subsequent elimination of infected herds.

Recent outbreaks of foot and mouth disease in countries of east Asia.

Japan regained the status of freedom from foot and mouth disease (FMD) without vaccination in September 2000 and the Republic of Korea likewise obtained this status in September 2001. However, new outbreaks of FMD caused by the pan-Asian topotype have occurred in pigs in the Republic of Korea since May 2002. Taipei China has not experienced an outbreak of FMD since February 2001 and the country is currently implementing an eradication programme. These countries had been free from FMD for many decades when in 1997, the FMD virus (FMDV) once again invaded the region, particularly in 2000; this resulted in widespread occurrence of the disease. The types of FMDV were investigated by genome analysis, and in each case the virus concerned was found to be a member of the pan-Asian O lineage. The authors present the recent situations and the characteristics of FMD in countries of east Asia.

Future research on foot and mouth disease.

The recent outbreaks of foot and mouth disease (FMD) in Argentina, Europe, Japan, the Republic of Korea, South Africa and Uruguay have brought to world attention the devastating effects of the disease in a naïve population and the social and economic costs of control and eradication. The fact that much still remains unknown about the natural history of FMD virus came as a surprise to some. This paper attempts to identify where research should be directed in order to be better prepared in the future.