National Academies Press: OpenBook
« Previous: C Existing Federal System for Addressing Animal Diseases, White Paper by Nga Tran
Suggested Citation:"D Animal Diseases and Their Vectors." National Research Council. 2005. Animal Health at the Crossroads: Preventing, Detecting, and Diagnosing Animal Diseases. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11365.
×

Appendix D
Animal Diseases and Their Vectors

The following conclusions were drawn in the NRC report Countering Agricultural Bioterrorism (NRC, 2003a):

  1. Some animal diseases are of greater economic than public health importance. Even though significant public health impacts could in principle result from intentional introduction of animal diseases, their spread would likely be minimized by regulatory bans and procedures.

  2. Limitations of current diagnostic tests and current understanding of the pathogenesis and epidemiology of specific animal diseases may make these diseases suitable for use in hoaxes.

  3. Regulatory controls can substantially reduce the likelihood of natural introduction of some animal diseases.

  4. Because some animal diseases are not highly contagious, selective culling would be possible if we had sensitive on-the-hoof preclinical diagnostic tools.

  5. Development of effective diagnostic and identification tools for the animal diseases of concern warrants a high research priority today.

  6. Basic-science and technology programs will have broad application in protecting us from harm.

  7. Effective public information materials should be drafted in advance of natural or terrorist introduction of animal diseases of concern into the United States, so that they will be available immediately whenever needed.

  8. The threat of an animal disease as an agricultural terrorist agent will be limited by factors such as

Suggested Citation:"D Animal Diseases and Their Vectors." National Research Council. 2005. Animal Health at the Crossroads: Preventing, Detecting, and Diagnosing Animal Diseases. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11365.
×
  • Difficulty in obtaining or producing the agent.

  • Physical and biological security of the plants that manufacture animal feeds, animal medicinals, and vaccines.

  • Regulatory actions.

  • An active national surveillance program.

  1. Vulnerability to animal disease as an agricultural terrorist threat agent is increased by

    • Limited effectiveness of border controls (for example, inspection procedures that are not developed with terrorists in mind, with a small proportion of luggage inspected at ports of entry).

    • The small number and low sensitivity of diagnostic tests to detect an agent in living animals or animal tissues.

    • A high resistance of an agent to inactivation by physical and chemical treatments.

    • Lack of full compliance with regulations in place to control or eradicate the disease.

    • A long incubation period from exposure to onset of disease, which would allow time for terrorists to escape detection and for wide dissemination of infected animals before discovery.

    • An unwarranted degree of public concern over the disease, which could leverage a small number of cases or a hoax into an event with major adverse economic, social, and political effects.

  1. Modern molecular field tests for animal diseases of concern need to be validated and introduced by USDA regionally and encouraged locally.

  2. Vaccine stocks for animal diseases of concern need to be modernized and expanded.

  3. Research should be performed to develop vaccines suitable for specific disease subtypes.

  4. The United States should investigate the global eradication of those animal diseases posing significant threats and cooperate with international agricultural and wildlife experts in doing so. A continuing international mechanism to identify measures needed for global eradication of particular diseases should be established. Through such a mechanism, a global vaccination and eradication strategy could be developed with the participation of diverse experts and stakeholders. This could be a win-win situation for the United States and for other countries.

  5. Widespread distribution of potential vector species increases the potential public health and economic impacts of a zoonotic disease.

  6. It is essential for an effective response to have in place an infrastructure of disease surveillance and response systems, as well as cooperation and communication among agricultural, wildlife, and public health organizations.

Suggested Citation:"D Animal Diseases and Their Vectors." National Research Council. 2005. Animal Health at the Crossroads: Preventing, Detecting, and Diagnosing Animal Diseases. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11365.
×
  1. Early detection and diagnostic tools are pivotal for limiting the extent of an outbreak. Education, limitation of animal movement, and development of vector population control methods are other important factors.

  2. Basic research is critical for understanding of the pathogenesis and epidemiology of many animal diseases.

Suggested Citation:"D Animal Diseases and Their Vectors." National Research Council. 2005. Animal Health at the Crossroads: Preventing, Detecting, and Diagnosing Animal Diseases. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11365.
×
Page 255
Suggested Citation:"D Animal Diseases and Their Vectors." National Research Council. 2005. Animal Health at the Crossroads: Preventing, Detecting, and Diagnosing Animal Diseases. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11365.
×
Page 256
Suggested Citation:"D Animal Diseases and Their Vectors." National Research Council. 2005. Animal Health at the Crossroads: Preventing, Detecting, and Diagnosing Animal Diseases. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11365.
×
Page 257
Next: E Biographical Sketches of Committee Members »
Animal Health at the Crossroads: Preventing, Detecting, and Diagnosing Animal Diseases Get This Book
×
Buy Paperback | $55.00 Buy Ebook | $43.99
MyNAP members save 10% online.
Login or Register to save!
Download Free PDF

The confirmed case of "mad cow" disease (BSE) in June 2005 illustrates the economic impact of disease outbreaks, as additional countries closed their markets to U.S. beef and beef products. Emerging diseases also threaten public health--11 out of 12 of the major global disease outbreaks over the last decade were from zoonotic agents (that spread from animals to humans).

Animal Health at the Crossroads: Preventing, Detecting, and Diagnosing Animal Diseases finds that, in general, the U.S. animal health framework has been slow to take advantage of state-of-the-art technologies being used now to protect public health; better diagnostic tests for identifying all animal diseases should be made a priority. The report also recommends that the nation establish a high-level, authoritative, and accountable coordinating mechanism to engage and enhance partnerships among local, state, and federal agencies, and the private sector.

  1. ×

    Welcome to OpenBook!

    You're looking at OpenBook, NAP.edu's online reading room since 1999. Based on feedback from you, our users, we've made some improvements that make it easier than ever to read thousands of publications on our website.

    Do you want to take a quick tour of the OpenBook's features?

    No Thanks Take a Tour »
  2. ×

    Show this book's table of contents, where you can jump to any chapter by name.

    « Back Next »
  3. ×

    ...or use these buttons to go back to the previous chapter or skip to the next one.

    « Back Next »
  4. ×

    Jump up to the previous page or down to the next one. Also, you can type in a page number and press Enter to go directly to that page in the book.

    « Back Next »
  5. ×

    Switch between the Original Pages, where you can read the report as it appeared in print, and Text Pages for the web version, where you can highlight and search the text.

    « Back Next »
  6. ×

    To search the entire text of this book, type in your search term here and press Enter.

    « Back Next »
  7. ×

    Share a link to this book page on your preferred social network or via email.

    « Back Next »
  8. ×

    View our suggested citation for this chapter.

    « Back Next »
  9. ×

    Ready to take your reading offline? Click here to buy this book in print or download it as a free PDF, if available.

    « Back Next »
Stay Connected!