Hawai'i ranches guard against foot-and-mouth disease

By Hugh Clark
Advertiser Big Island Bureau

WAIMEA, Hawai'i — From the Big Island to Kaua'i, concern about the threat of foot-and-mouth disease is prompting Hawai'i ranchers to take precautions.

Parker Ranch — the largest in the state, with 225,000 acres — announced this week that visitors entering livestock areas must use a disinfectant footwash.

On Maui, Sumner Erdman of 'Ulupalakua Ranch is considering whether to ban the use of feed mixtures made with restaurant waste.

On Kaua'i, Donn Carswell of Princeville Ranch is requiring visitors from abroad to use a sterilizing footwash before entering the property.

"We are definitely being cautious," Carswell said.

The threat is real, said Dave Ramos, executive vice president of livestock and ranch operations at Parker Ranch.

"Foot-and-mouth disease is mainly an economic rather than safety issue," he said. "Because there is no known cure, a widespread outbreak could cause massive production losses."

There are an estimated 830 cattle-ranching operations statewide, with a total of 150,000 animals. The Big Island accounts for about 70 percent of beef production in the state.

Virus spreads easily

Foot-and-mouth is a highly communicable viral disease among cattle, pigs, sheep and other cloven-hoofed animals. Humans are not susceptible to the disease but can be carriers. The virus can be spread by air and via clothing, automobile tires, manure and contaminated hay and water.

Since February, European nations have responded to a foot-and-mouth epidemic by slaughtering hundreds of thousands of livestock to prevent the disease from spreading further.

To help prevent travelers from spreading the disease in Hawai'i, state veterinarian James Foppoli has issued an advisory asking people who visited Britain, Northern Ireland and Argentina within the past 30 days to try to stay away from farms, ranches and zoos for at least five days after they return.

"I am scared," said Maui's Erdman of the threat to the 2,000 head of cattle on his 23,000-acre 'Ulupalakua ranch on the slopes of Haleakala. His only question is why it has taken Hawai'i two years to react.

"This has been rampant in Asia forever," and more so in the last two years on Taiwan, he said.

Tedeschi Winery, visited by 1,200 or so guests daily, is on 'Ulupalakua Ranch property. Erdman said it would be impractical to require visitors to undergo footbaths. His focus in disease prevention will be on the swill made from restaurant waste that some of his employees use to feed their hogs.

He is considering banning the use of the feed source to ensure there is no spread of the disease from infected restaurant waste to pigs, then to cattle.

Billy Bergin, a state veterinarian on the Big Island for 31 years, is pleased by the Parker Ranch's decision to require footwashes.

"They are being prudent, not overreactive," said Bergin, who attended conferences last month in Colorado and Illinois where foot-and-mouth disease was discussed.

Monitoring hog farms

State inspectors on the Big Island are focusing on the hog industry. In the past two weeks, they have begun monitoring pig farmers to ensure that in preparation of hog food, the swill is heated to 212 degrees for 15 minutes or more.

Although the United States has not had a confirmed case of foot-and-mouth since 1929, "these precautionary steps are to ensure the health and safety of our livestock and thus protect the livelihood of the ranch and its employees," Ramos said of Parker Ranch's footbath requirement for visitors.

Carswell, who operates hiking and riding tours on his family's Princeville Ranch on Kaua'i, said he is mandating that visitors from overseas undergo a chlorine bleach footwash to ensure his herd of 200 cows and their calves do not become infected.

"We are leaning to be conservative all the way," he said.

Bergin said the virus is not only deadly but long-lasting. He described how a person from Hawai'i who spent a half-hour in an English barn could spread the virus six days later to a piggery in Hilo by merely exhaling.

"The risk is greater than ever since we have become a global society," Bergin said. "Someone's auntie from Taiwan could quickly introduce the problem to the Islands by visiting a relative here and bringing along a gift package of Chinese sausage."

That kind of food product is believed to have been the source of contamination that led to the outbreak in England.