Purdue News
Purdue News
|
|
April 13, 2001 Purdue experts propose ideas to deal with foot-and-mouth diseaseWEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Should foot-and-mouth disease come to the United States, Purdue University agricultural economists advocate local testing to quickly respond to the disease and a strong message from the government that would encourage producers to report the problem. "It would be essential that we pinpoint the disease immediately and encourage efforts that would help officials do that," said Otto Doering, professor of agricultural economics, who earlier this week proposed his views on dealing with the disease during a Washington, D.C., conference. FMD is a highly contagious disease affecting cattle, swine, sheep, goats, deer and other cloven-hoofed ruminants. The disease is not harmful to humans. Doering recommends the U.S. Department of Agriculture issue a firm statement alerting producers that if FMD were found in their herds they would receive adequate reimbursement for any animals destroyed. "Such things as larger payments for breeding stock need to be made clear so as to encourage farmers to come forward if there is an outbreak," Doering said. Ken Foster, professor of agricultural economics who accompanied Doering to the conference, also raised the issue of immediate testing of suspect animals. "If some state diagnostic labs were allowed to test for FMD, that would reduce the time it takes to make the diagnosis," he said. Testing for FMD currently can only be done in the United States at facilities located at Plum Island, N.Y., and Ames, Iowa. "Farmers might be more willing to report suspected cases if they dealt with local and more familiar institutions," Foster said. In Indiana, testing for other animal diseases is done at the Animal Disease Diagnostic Lab at Purdue. Formulating strategies for dealing with a possible disease outbreak in this country are difficult given a variety of variables. Foster said vigilance is important. "In a couple months people may become complacent and stop doing some of the practices that are now helping to keep FMD out of this country," he said. "We need to keep awareness high." Calculating the economic impact FMD would have in the United States is difficult. Estimated costs range from $2 billion to $24 billion. Factors that would affect the disease's impact include where the outbreak was discovered; how quickly it was diagnosed; the means used to deal with the outbreak; and the success of those efforts. Doering said the speed with which FMD is discovered, isolated and dealt with are the key determinants in controlling the cost of an outbreak. "Any delays greatly increase the costs," he said. American exports of beef, pork, lamb and dairy products would likely be affected should FMD be reported in this country. However, Philip Paarlberg, professor of agricultural economics and a world trade expert, doesn't think FMD would necessarily "vaporize" the $6 billion U.S. meat export market. "This country primarily exports fresh meat," he said. "But there is no restriction on FMD countries shipping cooked meat, which is what Argentina chose to do." He also said foreign countries could choose to import meat from regions of the United States that were not affected by the disease. Many countries, such as Russia, do not care if their meat comes from FMD-infected countries, Foster said. "Some of our exports go to these places now and probably wouldn't be affected," he said. "The prices would be lower in these markets, but increased trade there would reduce the impact of FMD on domestic prices." About 10 percent of U.S. beef and 7 percent of pork currently are exported overseas. Paarlberg said the pork industry in this country has seen some benefit from foreign FMD outbreaks, slightly increasing the demand for U.S. pork exports. While the direct costs of FMD to the U.S. government and farmers could be critical, Paarlberg said indirect costs may be even more substantial. "In Great Britain some estimate the money lost in tourism to exceed the losses to agriculture," he said. Sources: Otto Doering, (765) 494-4226; ocd3@purdue.edu Ken Foster, (765) 494-1116; foster@agecon.purdue.edu Philip Paarlberg, (765) 494-4251; paarlberg@agecon.purdue.edu Writer: Beth Forbes, (765) 494-2722; bforbes@aes.purdue.edu Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; purduenews@uns.purdue.edu Related Web sites:
|
