Hi Fibernetters,
As a sheep owner and a fleece processor, I've been reading up on HMD
on the internet. This is an insidious disease and spreads easily and the
virus can live for days. Britain is beginning to restrict public movement
because of this disease. It can be carried for days on clothes, shoes,
travel 40 miles in the air, be carried on tires, in trucks, in food and on
fleeces. Horse racing, horse shows and dog shows have been cancelled in UK.
Not because these animals can get the disease, but the possibility that the
disease could be moved from an infected area to an uninfected area.
In this country it isn't just the cattle, sheep and swine that could be
affected, but deer, antelope, bison, elk, etc. Domesticated animals could be
destroyed, but there is no way the wild animals could all be eliminated.
The potential for disaster to the US livestock industry is enormous and
devastating. The suspected source of infestation is thought to have been
contaminated food waste imported to UK and fed to swine.
It was mentioned that the US gov't could and would stop the disease at port
of entry. How many of us have carried food on board an airplane and carried
it off at our destination uneaten. That would be all it would take to get
the disease here from UK. Hopefully USDA has put into motion the
restrictions on fleece as well as suspect food sources from the UK. A
disease of this nature has ramifcations that we've never seen in this
country and I hope we never will.
Gail White
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