After two major livestock diseases hit Iowa’s poultry and hog industries in recent years, state and federal officials are asking farmers to prepare for future outbreaks, even for viruses not yet found in North America. The illnesses they’re most worried about wouldn’t sicken humans but could shut down meat exports, which Iowa producers depend on. Iowa State University veterinarian Jim Roth says farmers need to alert their vets as soon as animals get sick. He says early confirmation of a foreign, highly-contagious disease will be key.
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While they keep an eye on where the diseases are in the world, Roth says there’s no way to know how a virus will get here.
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Roth says feed was implicated but never confirmed as the source of the porcine epidemic diarrhea virus several years ago. That one wasn’t as serious because it didn’t shut down export markets, but if one of these other diseases arrives, farmers could immediately see their overseas sales disappear. Roth recently presented a Secure Pork Supply Plan, developed over several years, to producers at the Iowa Pork Congress in Des Moines.