During the 2001 UK epidemic of foot and mouth disease, some
zoological collections had their ruminants and pigs compulsorily
slaughtered.

This month is the 5th anniversary of the start of that epidemic and
policy and implications of control methods are being reviewed like
never before. Please circulate these 2 news releases to anyone who
may be interested

Thanks!

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Eradication of Livestock Epidemic Diseases
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Dr Roger Breeze, former USDA advisor on FMD and Agro-terrorism will
present the Keynote presentation and public forum at the FREE
international FMD conference on 15th March 2006 in Manchester Town
Hall, United Kingdom. His presentation is entitled:

"IF WE GIVE THEM THE TOOLS, THEY CAN FINISH THE JOB:
A manifesto for global livestock epidemic disease eradication in our
lifetime"

SYNOPSIS:
Why exactly does society tolerate the deleterious effects of FMD,
classical swine fever and other major plagues of the world's
livestock? It is not for lack of technology to eliminate them.

The most important outcome of the 2001 EU (world's worst ever!) FMD
epidemic would be for members of the public who are not farmers to
take up the cause of eliminating these diseases that are so
important to pastoral and small farmers all over the world and among
the root causes of poverty in societies that depend upon livestock
in ways not appreciated in the developed world.

Dr Roger Breeze is a former USDA advisor on FMD and was President
Clinton's lead advisor on agricultural research. A world expert on
Agro-Terrorism, he is currently Chief Scientist to the US Defense
Department's Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA).

Born in Manchester UK, Dr Breeze qualified as a veterinarian at the
Glasgow, Scotland veterinary school and is a partner in the family
dairy cattle farm near Heywood, Lancashire, UK.
Further details at:
http://www.pighealth.com/diseases/FMD/news.htm

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===================================
The Changing Face of Farm Livestock Epidemics
===================================

The last decade has some major trends in Livestock Epidemics
including:

a) Increased use of the internet & more public visibility of
epidemics
b) Growth of mathematical and computer modelling
c) Heightened sensitivity to political, social and environmental
aspects of epidemics

This month is the 5th Anniversary of the start of world's worst foot-
and-mouth disease epidemic and like all major epidemics throughout
history it has had a "tail" of cultural change - a natural desire to
respond to suffering and loss by learning lessons and evolving our
skill to prevent and control disease epidemics in the future.

The 5th Anniversary of this awful FMD epidemic is being marked by 3
events:

FREE INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE
-----------------------------
Manchester UK 14-16 March 2006, entitled "The Cultural Documents of
the 2001 Foot and Mouth Epidemic - A review of the social, health,
veterinary, cultural and scientific research work and documentary
records relating to the 2001 FMD outbreak in Britain".

The conference focuses on:

a) A non-partisan, informed and constructive public debate about
what happened, why and the lessons are that we can now learn from
all this five years on. It will involve a wider general public and
urban community leaders in the debate about FMD for the first time.

b) Framing a new cultural understanding and response to FMD and
animal epidemiology in general in the light of public concerns about
HPAI "Bird Flu".

For details see:
http://www.pighealth.com/diseases/FMD/news.htm

NEW BOOK ON LIVESTOCK EPIDEMICS
-------------------------------
"Following Orders" is the dramatised account of the life of a
government veterinary officer during the real-life swine fever
epidemic which occurred in 2000 and the world's worst epidemic of
FMD in 2001. Although ostensibly a novel it documents the real-life
events in these 2 epidemics and is packed with practical tips
regarding on-farm epidemiology investigations, on-farm sampling, on-
farm slaughtering and the practicalities of carcase disposal in a
variety of situations.

The book is also a revealing insight into the ethical and moral
dilemmas that are posed by livestock epidemics in the 21st century.

The book is also contains a potent cautionary tale about the
practical limitations of computer modelling.
More details and ordering links for this book can be found at:
http://www.pighealth.com/diseases/FMD/news.htm

FMD ARCHIVE OPENED
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To mark this 5th anniversary and contribute to the "mature
reflection" debate at this time, I have made freely available on-
line my own archive of the 2001 EU epidemic of FMD.
http://www.sunflower-health.com/fmd220803/fmdoutbreaks.htm

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