The Agricultural Biosecurity Blog
Summer and fall are the times of year when many livestock producers participate in fairs, exhibitions and shows. However, it is not the time to be lax about biosecurity measures given the ongoing risks of commingling animals at these events. Horses and other livestock being hauled to and from exhibitions may contribute to spreading vesicular stomatitis (VS) and other highly …
Livestock production in the United States varies in size and scope from large-scale commercial operations to small-scale, backyard producers. At the national level, plans have been created to ensure that in the event of a foreign animal disease outbreak, unaffected parts of the agriculture industry can avoid interruption. These “food supply plans” may seem unimportant for farms with local markets …
Picture this: a typical hot, sunny and dry summer morning on a Texas cattle ranch. A rancher heads out to check on the herd and finds a dead cow. The cow seemed healthy a day or two ago. However, considering the cow’s death was sudden and the ranch is located in the “anthrax belt”, the rancher immediately calls a veterinarian …
Biosecurity and surveillance are complementary. Health surveillance in human, plant, or animal contexts involves collecting, analyzing, and interpreting health-related data. These data then inform what is done in terms of health programs and strategic communication. National surveillance systems often rely on the reporting of diagnoses of certain diseases to regulatory agencies. However, agricultural industries can find value in sharing animal …
What do you do when an uncontrolled virus is rapidly sweeping the world’s largest pork producer, killing millions of pigs? Furthermore, how do you make people who are removed from the problem care about it? China is currently trying to answer these questions as they experience an African swine fever (ASF) outbreak, a huge threat to national and international biosecurity. …
When I was young, my parents would tell me to stay away from wild animals. They said that I could catch a disease, so I heeded their warnings but never really understood the reasons why. As a college student, I am grateful for their wisdom after learning about diseases that wild animals can spread to domesticated animals and humans. A …
