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Farm
& Garden . On
the Farm
The U.S. hasn't seen a verified case of Foot & Mouth Disease since before the Great Depression, in 1929. Understandably, however, with much of local Ag dependent on livestock -- especially dairy cattle -- any news about Foot & Mouth Disease [FMD] is going to get a lot of people's attention. So, with the outbreak in Britain and the threat of FMD spreading, it should come as no surprise that Departments of Agriculture everywhere have been working diligently to get the word out. APHIS -- the USDA Animal & Plant Health Inspection Service -- has been steadily increasing its education, training, info, and prevention efforts, including a poster {at right} which is intended to be conspicuously located at airports and other possible points of entry for FMD, including military facilities, which are also responsible for a considerable amount of traffic to and from infected areas in Britain and elsewhere. In fact, the military has established extensive decontamination procedures, particularly for trucks and other heavy equipment, upon return to the U.S. from these regions. FMD: A Form of the
Coxsackie Virus ... While the threat to humans from this particular strain of Coxsackie is relatively benign, there appears, nonetheless, to be a variety of symptoms associated with exposure to FMD, particularly among young children, and therefore a cause for some concern. Symptoms of fever, poor appetite, runny nose and sore throat can appear 3 to 5 days after exposure to FMD, along with sores on the tongue and inside the cheeks, and small blisters (3 mm to 7 mm or .11 to .28 in) on the hands and feet. Of course, there is no specific treatment for FMD in humans; but neither is there any probable risk of complications. Standard treatment includes addressing the symptoms of fever and increasing fluid intake. The
Potential Agricultural Impact ... Currently in the U.K., the BBC on-line reports the following statistics concerning the FMD outbreak as of April 19th:
Interestingly, there is also an article detailing the condemnation by some vets of Britain's efforts in dealing with FMD. It seems a group of 50 vets from Devon have portrayed efforts by Britain's Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food as a "catalogue of disasters," and have characterized that government's FMD eradication policies as "needless slaughter." Vermont's
FMD Vigilance ... The most recent issue of Agriview -- the State Dept. of Ag's monthly -- published April 15th, led off with an extensive article on the FMD outbreak in Britain. The headline read ... Despite
Positive Signs, Still Too Early To Tell If But the State's efforts at FMD prevention & education started a month earlier than the most recent Agriview. What follows are some of the highlights of those efforts, along with links to on-line resources where available.
.In keeping with the efforts at education & prevention, and recognizing the potentially devastating consequences of an outbreak of FMD, DownStreet this month is also devoting its Links to Farm & Garden On-Line to additional FMD information & resources. . ******* ******* If you would like to submit a feature for our Farm & Garden section, don't hesitate to let us know. Simply e-mail us at farmgarden@downstreetmagazine.com. The e-mail should contain your name, address, and a phone number where we can reach you. You may also send a copy of your proposed article. The text can either be included in the body of the e-mail, or you can send it as an attachment in just about any word processing format. If your piece is accepted, we will pay a small honorarium for your interest & your time. [See Freelancers Wanted for more details.] ******* ******* If you would like to advertise in this section, or throughout the magazine, please visit our Advertising Info Pages ... or call, write, or e-mail ads@downstreetmagazine.com. ******* *******.. |
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