Travellers passing through Chiang Kai-shek International Airport have recently experienced new anti-epidemic measures. Passengers have to walk across a disinfectant-filled tray to sterilize the soles of their shoes, in order to prevent the entry of the foot-and-mouth virus, which has caused an epidemic in Britain. Customs authorities all over the world are taking strict, anti-epidemic measures. In Europe and the US, large numbers of quarantine officials are being sent to airports to "guard the passes." These scenes of a worldwide mobilization remind us of Taiwan's own painful experience of the foot-and-mouth epidemic four years ago.
When Britain had its first case of foot-and-mouth disease in more than 20 years, quarantine authorities hurriedly undertook massive slaughters but were unable to effectively control the epidemic. The disease spread to the whole of Britain and even affected neighboring countries, including Belgium, Italy and France. By March 15, 230 farms across Britain had been affected, and more than 170,000 animals had been slaughtered. The disease has continuing to spread, threatening not only other EU nations but also the Americas and Asia. Countries around the world, therefore, have heightened their alert and banned the import of animal products from EU countries. Even people travelling to and from EU countries have come under intense scrutiny. The impact of the epidemic is so large that it may even delay the British elections scheduled for May.
Some people in Taiwan may think the British measures have been ineffective because the epidemic is still not under control one month after the outbreak. Perhaps people in Taiwan were smarter when they handled the 1997 epidemic. In fact, this is not the case. Taiwan apparently put the epidemic under control after an all-out vaccination drive, but in fact the foot-and-mouth virus remains latent in our pigs permanently. In contrast, the UK and other EU countries are resolutely slaughtering away to prevent the spread of the disease, avoiding vaccinations completely.
The UK is a leader in the research of foot-and-mouth disease. It has set up a foot-and-mouth clinic and laboratory in Pirbright, which provides diagnosis and serum analysis services to countries around the world. It is also an international authority on foot-and-mouth disease. The World Organization for Animal Health stipulated that all member countries must send all their foot-and-mouth samples to this laboratory for diagnosis. Taiwan also sent all its foot-and-mouth samples to the Pirbright lab from 1997 to 1999. Thus, Britain has a clearer understanding of foot-and-mouth than other nations.
Although foot-and-mouth is currently still spreading in Britain, the country's disease control agencies chose to slaughter infected or potentially infected animals and restrict the movement of animals within a 10km radius -- rather than adopt preventive measures such as local quarantines or wholescale immunization. Economics were the main consideration behind this decision, because as soon as an immunization policy is adopted, the UK might be unable to rid itself of the "foot-and-mouth epidemic area" label. Argentina initially adopted immunization measures to control foot-and-mouth and as a result, it has struggled with the virus for nearly 40 years. It still hasn't won the battle.
The UK is one of the world's major livestock breeders. With over 40 million sheep, 10 million cows and 7 million pigs, it is a major exporter of breeding stock and livestock products. As soon as it becomes an area where foot-and-mouth is prevalent, it will be unable to export livestock products. In addition, if immunization is used to control the epidemic, it will incur a gargantuan bill. For the approximately 70 million livestock affected, over 200 million doses of vaccine would be needed annually, which, at the cost of about NT$20 per dose, would incur an annual expenditure of over NT$5 billion. In 1967, when Britain experienced an outbreak of foot-and-mouth, it slaughtered over 500,000 animals, effectively exterminating the disease. During the struggle, the command unanimously adhered to by the domestic industry, government officials, and academia was "don't implement an immunization policy."
In fact, it wasn't just Britain. Back in 1920, all European countries decided that any vicious, infectious disease in an animal could only be rooted out through slaughter. Three years ago, when the Netherlands suffered an outbreak of hog cholera, it chose slaughter as its main course of action. To date, the Netherlands have slaughtered close to 10 million pigs. Japan also adopted slaughter to deal with last year's foot-and-mouth epidemic. In contrast, South Korea adopted the method of vaccinating animals in parts of the affected areas. As a result, it remains an internationally-recognized epidemic area.
Taiwan's 1997 epidemic spun out of control because an early opportunity to stop it was missed. As a result, a large amount of money was spent on vaccines and around 4 million pigs were slaughtered, at a total cost of more than NT$170 billion (over US$5 billion). Despite this, the virus remains. Now, the annual cost of foot-and-mouth prevention amounts to at least NT$1.5 billion. If we include business losses from the trade of agricultural products, total losses from disease are inestimable.
When a foot-and-mouth epidemic originating in China encroached into Kinmen in 1999, I warned that Taiwan cattle should not be vaccinated. The methods employed by the UK and other EU countries during the recent epidemic can serve as a reference for future handling of similar epidemics in Taiwan.
Lai Shiow-suey is a professor in the department of veterinary medicine at National Taiwan University.
Translated by Scudder Smith
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