March 26, 2001

NDSU Pathologist Receives Training in Foot and Mouth and other Foreign Diseases

Foot and mouth disease is just one of dozens of foreign livestock diseases that threatens the U.S. livestock industry, says an animal disease specialist at North Dakota State University.

"We may seem to be very isolated here, but when you consider world travel today, we are definitely at risk," says Teresa Newell, a pathologist at the NDSU Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory. "Someone from the United Kingdom could be walking around in North Dakota in less than 24 hours."

Newell recently participated in a two-week USDA training on foreign animal diseases. The training was at Plum Island, N.Y., at the Plum Island Animal Disease Center. The center is the only place in the country where certain highly infectious foreign animal diseases such as foot and mouth disease are studied. The center’s focus is keeping those diseases out of the country by finding quicker ways to diagnose them and by developing vaccines and other veterinary treatments.

Newell was able to observe live animals suffering from foot and mouth disease and observe post mortem examinations of them. While there she also studied Avian Influenza, Newcastles disease, rabbit viral hemorragic fever, heart water, hog cholera, sheep pox and other diseases that threaten livestock in other parts of the world but have been eradicated or have not infected animals in the United States.

Plum Island is accessible only by boat and is located about 1 1/2 miles from Long Island, N.Y. Plum Island Animal Disease Center is a Biosafety Level 3 research facility, which means that the animal research is carried out in "biocontainment." This means that people must take specific precautions when entering and exiting the research areas. Each person must take off all clothing, jewelry and other personal items and leave them in a locker room, then go into another room to put on clothes provided for wearing inside biocontainment. Upon leaving, each person must also take precautions such as leaving the biocontainment clothing behind, scubbing under their fingernails, showering and shampooing, blowing their nose and expectorating.

Newell said recent outbreaks of diseases such as the West Nile virus in the northeastern United States and the Nipah Virus in Asia were highlighted as examples of how outbreaks can occur. The West Nile Virus infects birds and causes disease in humans. The Nipah virus causes respiratory problems in pigs and caused encephalitis in pig farmers.

"Those diseases highlight the need for constant vigilance and research," Newell says. "With population pressures as they are around the world, we don’t know where a disease outbreak will pop out next."

The training illustrated the vast number of ways that disease can be spread, from garbage from international airline flights, to the natural migration of birds. Travelers may harbor disease in their lungs, on their clothing or in contraband in their luggage.

"With disease agents like this loose in industrialized parts of the world where intensive animal agriculture is practiced, the possibility of disease outbreaks is increased," she says.

Newell says the training made her more aware of potential problems that the region’s livestock producers could face. She also gained experience in identifying the foreign disease pathogens.

"It was a pretty sobering experience. I hope that I never have to diagnose a case of any of those diseases," she notes. "Handling anthrax cases here and seeing the impacts on producers is bad enough. It makes you question whether you really want to be responsible for diagnosing a case of foot and mouth and setting off a chain of events like what’s occurring in Europe."

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Source: Teresa Newell, (701) 231-7524, tnewell@ndsuext.nodak.edu
Editor: Tom Jirik, (701) 231-9629, tjirik@ndsuext.nodak.edu