Maine veterinarian in Britain to help fight outbreak

AUGUSTA – Donald Hoenig left Sunday for a great adventure, albeit a potentially tragic one.

Hoenig is one of two veterinarians who work with the Maine Department of Agriculture.

Late last week, he was selected to accompany the first delegation of American veterinarians to Great Britain to help combat a recent outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease. Nine other veterinarians are in Hoenig’s group – two state veterinarians from California and one from Texas, and six federal veterinarians from elsewhere in the United States. Two additional groups of 10 veterinarians are expected to follow in the next week.

Foot, or hoof, and mouth disease is a highly contagious infection almost exclusive to cattle, sheep, pigs, goats and other cloven-hoofed (two-toed) animals. The virus was first identified in 1897. Among its symptoms are fever, loss of appetite and weight, and blisters about the mouth, feet and udder. Discharge from the blisters makes the disease easily spread by contact. According to one Web site, animals rarely die from the disease, but are slaughtered to prevent further outbreaks.

Although humans are not susceptible to the disease, they are carriers. British authorities have banned export of all meat and dairy products to prevent the spread of the disease outside the country. Travelers also are urged not to transport the products out of the country and to take precautions with their clothing, footwear and personal objects that may have been exposed to the disease in an infected area. British authorities are controlling the movement of animals for slaughter within the country and prohibiting, or canceling, walking tours and excursions in the affected areas.

Hoenig expects to be dispatched to the English countryside to respond to some of the thousands of calls authorities have received about possible infestations.

“The veterinary staff there is just overwhelmed,” he said of the recent outbreak. “They put out a call for veterinarians from any English-speaking country to help.”

According to Hoenig’s information, 36 cases of the disease were reported in Great Britain last week. The outbreak is not specific to any one area of the country, but also reaches into Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

On Sunday, the British government’s Web site for the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Fisheries, www.maff.gov.uk, reported 52 cases confirmed.

“It’s really devastating,” Hoenig said of the impact of the outbreak. “If you have one case on one farm, whether it’s five cows or 500, they have to be killed. It’s the eradication approach.”

Hoenig was chosen for the delegation because of his training in handling livestock epidemics. He was involved in the 1980s with an outbreak of avian influenza, affecting chickens, in Pennsylvania. He also has taken training with the U.S. Department of Agriculture at Plum Island, N.Y., where virulent strains of animal disease are kept for training purposes. Hoenig also deals with large animals, cattle, sheep and pigs in his work with the Maine Department of Agriculture.

“It’s going to interesting, but it’s heart-wrenching and tragic for the farmers over there,” he said Sunday before leaving Maine to make his trans-Atlantic flight connections. “It’s an educational opportunity for me, and for the state.”