Kansas Ag Connection - K-State Hosts Inaugural Conference for Rural Vet Practitioners

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K-State Hosts Inaugural Conference for Rural Vet Practitioners
Kansas Ag Connection - 06/21/2017

An inaugural event in Manhattan helped educate rural veterinarians on how to respond and work together in the event of a potential transboundary emergency situation.

The June 4 Rural Veterinary Practitioner Conference at the Hilton Garden Inn was sponsored by the U.S. Department of Agriculture in collaboration with the Beef Cattle Institute, Center of Excellence for Emerging and Zoonotic Animal Diseases, National Agriculture Biosecurity Center, College of Veterinary Medicine at Kansas State University and the Kansas Department of Agriculture.

The conference's theme was "Preparing for Disease Challenges" and featured a variety of speakers such as Justin Smith, Kansas' animal health commissioner. He has responsibility for directing the statewide response outbreaks of emerging or transboundary disease. He noted that Kansas is particularly vulnerable, in part, due to the annual shipment of more than 4.5 million head of cattle into the state, not counting cattle shipped purely for purposes of slaughter.

Smith said contingency plans in Kansas are based on the possible outbreak of foot and mouth disease, as it represents a worst-case scenario. He said, "If we can stop that, we can stop anything."

Smith said the first element of such contingency plans is to stop movement of the animal, which is a key element in controlling the spread of any potential outbreak. He emphasized how veterinarians in Kansas would play key roles in the event of any such outbreak since the state's full-time manpower is sufficient to cope with the needs in an emergency.

The state response would involve a permitting process, but he added that the state does not want any of its plans to damage the ability of farmers and ranchers to participate in the market. "We want to make sure we can move product as soon as possible," Smith said. "The issue is doing it at the speed of commerce."

Ken Burton, director of project coordination for the Biosecurity Research Institute at Kansas State University and program director for the NABC, noted that with about 320,000 viruses capable of infecting mammals, potential concerns are abundant. He pointed out the nation's agricultural sector is responsible for about 1 in 10 jobs, contributing $835 billion to the nation's gross domestic product. With that level of activity, Burton said it's easy to understand why the job of protecting the nation's animal food supply from potential transboundary and emerging threats is so vital.

Other Kansas State University animal health experts spoke at the conference including Natalia Cernichiaro, assistant professor of diagnostic medicine and pathobiology, who discussed the use of data to investigate outbreaks. Mike Sanderson, a professor in the same department, outlined the Secure Beef Supply program.

Matt Miesner, clinical associate professor and section head of livestock services discussed common diseases that can look like more serious transboundary diseases. Professor emeritus Jerome Nietfeld reviewed differential diagnoses of transboundary diseases, and Lina Mur, research assistant professor in infectious diseases epidemiology, gave an overview of the global movement of transboundary animal diseases.

Gregg Hanzlicek, assistant professor and director of production animal field investigations, spoke about disease trends as determined by diagnostic submissions to the Kansas State Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory. Bob Larson, professor of production medicine, covered clinical diagnostic interpretation.

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