Coordinated Reaction to Disease Outbreak Tested

Earlier this week, this blog reported that Oklahoma and Kansas were going to conduct a coordinated dual state response drill aimed “at protecting the nation’s food supply from foot-and-mouth disease.” However, in theory the response and its success could be replicated in other areas.

Regardless, as John Milburn reports for the Associated Press, Kansas and Oklahoma just conducted the drill. Trucks were detained along the border if they were suspected of hauling livestock and drivers were questioned.

State and local authorities worked together to set up roadblocks and pull the vehicles over and question the drivers “about their loads and destination.” According to officials, this is the first “two-state exercise to halt the movement of livestock should the disease break out.”

According to the AP, “[t]he exercise comes only two days after final congressional approval of the first $32 million in funds for planning and construction for a proposed lab that would research foot-and-mouth and other animal diseases at Kansas State University in Manhattan. The 520,000-square-foot National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility would replace an aging lab on Plum Island, N.Y.”

Nebraska, Colorado, and Iowa all monitored the drill, which was based on a scenario that a case of foot-and-mouth disease is discovered in another state, which would cause the border clamp down. According to Kansas Livestock Commissioner George Teagarden, at any moment, roughly 50,000 head of livestock are traveling along Kansas roads. Given these numbers, Teagarden admits the goal is to reduce the risk since traffic can’t be stopped everywhere.

Another part of the plan, should an outbreak occur, would be to turn drivers around and send them back to where the livestock was picked up. The livestock must be held in this place for inspection.

The FBI apparently participated in today’s action. The AP reports there has not been a case of foot-and-mouth disease in US livestock since 1929. The name for the response efforts is SAMS-OK, which stands for Stop Animal Movement Statewide-Kansas Oklahoma.

To read the AP article click here.
To read a previous blog post from the US Agriculture & Food Law and Policy Blog, click here.

Posted: 10/23/09