BIOSECURITY AND ZOONOTIC DISEASE CHALLENGES AT THE KANSAS STATE FAIR

Abstract

The author carried out his field experience in the Kansas Department of Agriculture, Division of Animal Health in Manhattan, Kansas from August 2014 to May 2015. The Kansas Department of Agriculture is the oldest agriculture department in the United States. It has as its responsibility, the overall support of agriculture in Kansas. The Kansas Department of Agriculture (KDA) is divided into a number of divisions and programs to carry out its mission. The Division of Animal Health was created in 1969 from a consolidation of the Livestock Sanitary Commission and the State Brand Commission. The Division of Animal Health joined the Kansas Department of Agriculture in 2011. It is comprised of three programs: animal disease control, livestock brands and animal facilities inspection. The Kansas Board of Veterinary Examiners also operates under the Division of Animal Health. The Division of Animal Health’s objectives include the securing of public health and safety of the citizens of Kansas through the prevention, control and eradication of infectious diseases and conditions affecting the health of livestock and domestic animals in the state.

The author was involved in several different projects and activities. These included:

1) Biosecurity recommendations for the Kansas State Fair

2) Ebola virus disease table top exercises for state agencies in Kansas,

3) Foreign animal disease (FAD) outbreak: Foot and Mouth Disease table-top exercises

4) Low pathogenic avian influenza outbreak table-top exercise

5) One Health Collaboration Gap Analysis.

The author completed a lengthy project (culminating experience) in the development of biosecurity recommendations for the Kansas State Fair. These recommendations dealt with several facets of biosecurity including animal-to-human disease prevention (zoonotic diseases) as well as animal-to-animal disease prevention. The challenge of having large numbers of people at the fair in crowded spaces, combined with thousands of head of livestock and poultry while at the same time encouraging people to consume food and drink, sets up the potential for large outbreaks of zoonotic and/or food borne diseases. In preparing these recommendations, several factors weigh heavily into making practical, science based recommendations to protect the public. These factors include, the positive name of Kansas agriculture (which is show-cased at the fair), aging fair facilities and limited financial budgets. Human behavior also plays a large roll in reducing or increasing the risks of zoonotic disease at the fair or petting zoo. Education of fair visitors is vital to raising awareness that apparently healthy animals can be a source of disease. Facilities for hand washing or hand sanitizing along with promoting the use of these hand hygiene techniques is necessary to reduce the occurrence of zoonotic disease at the fair. The biosecurity documents were constructed as three different levels of biosecurity: gold (highest), silver (medium) and bronze (lowest level). The intention was that the Kansas State Fair management not be overwhelmed at the prospect of trying to achieve too many changes in a single year of operation. The gold level may not be financially possible the first or second year of improvement and the management could opt for attempting a lower level as opposed to making no biosecurity improvements. These three separate documents appear in their entirety in the Appendix section of this report.