Farmers fear foot-and-mouth disease could strike P.E.I.

By Steve Fanning
The Surveyor

Sitting at the kitchen table on their cattle farm in MacInnis Point, John Edgar and his son Thomas prepare vegetables for dinner. When they look out their window, they see the rolling hills of Prince Edward Island.

Across the Atlantic Ocean in a farm house in Ireland, their wives may be doing the same thing. But when they look out their window, they see a nation desperately trying to save itself from foot-and-mouth disease, which threatens to destroy their livelihood.

The Edgars have been trying to sell their farm in County Down, Northern Ireland, but since the outbreak of the disease, which can only be stopped by killing infected livestock, buyers have moved elsewhere, frightened by the pyres of burning cows and sheep smoldering on the countryside in almost every part of the United Kingdom.

The lives the Edgars have worked so hard to build are going up in smoke all around them. Farmers can do nothing but wait and hope it misses them.

Meanwhile, the Edgars worry Canada isn't doing enough to prevent the spread of the disease. They say more precautions are needed.

"This country should be afraid of it. It's a very relaxed attitude," says John.

People coming off a farm shouldn't be allowed to bring any clothing with them and they should have to wear disinfected cover-alls, he said.

"They should be made to wear track-suits to protect from carrying the disease over."

They've seen the damage caused by the virus, but worry Canada isn't scared of the disease because it isn't hitting close to home. Thomas recalls hearing about an incident in Holland where four cows were found with the disease. Some 45,000 cattle were killed in an attempt to isolate the disease.

"That would be the same amount as is in P.E.I.," he says.

"Canadians need farming so much, they should be taking more precautions," says John.

Ernie Mutch is a neighbour and a P.E.I. cattle farmer. He recalls farmers in Europe who killed themselves after having their livestock destroyed. He calls the disease devastating.

"We'd be ruined. Our sole income is off beef cattle."

Mutch says he is very careful about who he lets on his farm and he feels education is the best way to prevent the disease.

J.T. MacLure, assistant professor of the department of Health management at the Atlantic Veterinary College agrees.

"It's best to be preventative about the disease," says MacLure.

"Bleach clothes, bath, wear different shoes and clothes."

These methods are being used by some people, but there aren't any regulations enforcing the use of precautionary measures.

Most cases of foot-and-mouth are transferred from animals or by animal contact, said MacLure, but humans can spread the disease as well. That worries the Edgars.

Until recently, Ireland was free of the disease which has ravaged the British countryside.

The last outbreak in Ireland was in 1941. Just recently, however, there have been three new cases reported despite strict guidelines and restrictions.

The disease spread through the U.K. in seven days, according to news reports in Britain. It has spread from pigs to sheep to cattle in every corner of the U.K. It can spread through contact with farm equipment, animals, people, feed and through the air.

The disease causes sores on the soft skin tissues of cloven-hoofed animals like cows, pigs and sheep. Horses are immune, but they can spread it.

As with other viruses, there are various strains of foot-and-mouth and animals must be vaccinated against each one. This makes vaccination difficult and costly. However, vaccinations are used by many countries.

The most common strain of the disease is 'O', which is making its way through Europe now.

There have been outbreaks of the disease in Europe for centuries, but it was easier to contain in the past because of the limited amount of travel and export. In today's busy economy, millions of people travel daily and the disease can spread at an alarming rate.

The last outbreak in the U.K. was in 1967. It was contained to three farms and lasted only nine months.

This latest outbreak took just seven days to spread from Northumbria to Essex to Wales and through a dozen markets along the way. Some countries keep it from spreading while still managing to import and export.
Egypt is one.

Exportation there is limited to animals which have undergone tests to ensure they are free of foot-and-mouth. Imported animals are quarantined for 33 days and vaccinated for the O strain, the most common strain in Egypt since the 1970s. After the animal is released from the quarantine, vaccinations take place every four months for dairy animals and every six months for steers.

Clinical surveillance is conducted by trained veterinarians at clinics, town markets, slaughter houses and quarantine stations.

Infected farms are kept under quarantine for three weeks and all animals must be vaccinated. Immunity levels are then checked and all animals with low-level immunity must be re-vaccinated.

Egypt also uses the hygienic disposal of carcasses. They are burned and chemicals are used to disinfect the area.
Other nations now face doing the same thing.

The most recent epidemic in Europe has reached England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, the Irish Republic, Spain, France, Germany and Holland.

Irish efforts to contain the disease face a huge hurdle. In 1967, there were 500,000 people travelling from Britain to Dublin, in 2001 that is expected to hit 15 million. Each one could carry the disease on their shoes and clothes.

Ironically, in 1990, the European Union was declared free of foot-and-mouth, so farmers forgot how to operate under diseased conditions. For the 20 million cattle and other livestock, the consequences have been enormous.

The Edgars know that all too well. It is dangerous for John and Thomas to visit their family in Ireland. For now, they wait and concentrate on the life they have here, hoping the disease passes them by.

"It can be carried in your hair and clothes," warns John Edgar.

"I would definitely be worried."

"I am worried."