AFRO-NETS> RFI: Foot & Mouth Disease Vaccine (4)

[David Swanepoel <David@moon.ovi.ac.za>]

RFI: Foot & Mouth Disease Vaccine (4)
-------------------------------------

I had been asked to comment on the message below and related ones. I am 
the librarian of the Onderstepoort Veterinary Institute within the Ag-
ricultural Research Council in SA who provided scientific support dur-
ing the SA outbreaks. There were 2 unrelated ones. In fact, we are not 
free of the disease, but it is contained in the Kruger National Park on 
the eastern border. If it occasionally spread to immediately outside 
the KNP borders it is quickly subdued. Concern arise when it appears 
elsewhere in the country. 

I am hesitant to try to comment as I am not a scientist. I will try to 
get a comment from my patrons. The following can serve for now, but 
should by no means regarded as authoritative. Comments are interspersed 
below.

I am not a member of AFRO-NETS so please CC me in any postings to the 
list.

----- Forwarded Message Follows -----
Date sent: Sat, 24 Mar 2001 04:14:16 -0500 (EST)
To:        afro-nets@satellife.healthnet.org
From:      Christian Labadie <CLabadie@t-online.de>

>RFI: Foot & Mouth Disease Vaccine (3)
>-------------------------------------
>
>Vaccination is permitted since yesterday by the EU in the Netherlands 
>where 5 farms had cases of foot-and-mouth disease. Germany discussed 
>yesterday vaccination as there are calls to start vaccinating espe-
>cially in the North West region neighbouring the Netherlands.
>
>I am curious why the outbreak of the foot-and-mouth disease in Europe 
>(ca. 400 cases) is getting more news exposure than that in South Af-
>rica last Fall, in Rwanda (Feb-March, ca 124), and in Tanzania and 
>Uganda, and recently South America? Isn't it a concerning enough is-
>sue that should require much more attention? 

******
It is indeed so that the outbreaks in Europe seem to create much media 
attention. I have no explanation.
*******

>It seems that in South Africa and Europe the outbreaks were linked 
>with floods and drastic rain conditions. Could it be that the new 
>outbreaks of the foot-and-cloth are a side-effect of climate changes?

******
To my knowledge not. SA experiences a rather dry (southern hemisphere) 
summer. In the Kwazulu-Natal case an O-type (exotic to SA) FMD virus 
entered via contaminated feed from a ship from the far East (as seem to 
be the case in Britain). In Mpumalanga the indigenous strains were pre-
sent and probably came from Namibia. FMD is a highly contagious virus 
which easily spreads from where it is present, including airborne.

Many people seem to confuse FMD and BSE, there is no link at all. FMD 
causes only a slight fever when contracted by humans, if at all. But 
humans working with it can spread it to animals hence we have a huge 
and expensive to maintain isolation unit for this disease and a few 
others. 

David Swanepoel 
Library Information Service
ARC-Onderstepoort Veterinary Institute
P Bag X05
Onderstepoort 0110
South Africa 
Tel: +27-12-529-9279 
Fax: +27-12-529-9282 / 565-6573
mailto:david@moon.ovi.ac.za 
http://www.angelfire.com/sd/enkelbosch/contact.htm

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