After the devastating impact the 2015 Pathogenic Avian Influenza outbreak had on the poultry industry in the state, the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship has made animal disease emergency response education a priority. Recently, over 60 federal, state and local agency, academic and industry professionals came together in a mock emergency response exercise. Iowa Secretary of Agriculture, Bill Northey, says this was just one more step in the process to learn from the past and develop protocols to be better prepared in the event of another such disaster. The tabletop exercise was designed to help test response capabilities and review the department’s updated Foot-and-Mouth Disease Response Plan that was completed just this spring. Although this disease does not transmit to humans and there are no food safety concerns, Foot-and-Mouth disease can severely damage cattle, swine, sheep and goat herds. An outbreak could possibly be devastating to Iowa’s economy, as Iowa is the number one pork-producing state in the nation and fourth in beef production.
