October 5, 2007
Cookson Beecher
Capital Press
MONROE, Wash. - FBI agents armed with guns and handcuffs arrived at a dairy in Western Washington on Sept. 27 with one thing in mind: to collect evidence of an agroterrorism attack on the nation's livestock industry.
Agents said the attack came in the form of hoof-and-mouth virus smuggled into this country by terrorists.
Photo: Members of the FBI’s Hazardous Materials Response Team head out to collect evidence at a dairy farm near Monroe, Wash. In this agroterrorism training drill — the first of its kind in the nation — the FBI joined federal, state and local officials in a team effort to discover the source of a simulated terrorist-caused case of a dairy herd infected with foot-and-mouth disease. (Thomas Hurst / The Seattle Times)
Fortunately, this wasn't a real-life situation, but rather an agroterrorism training exercise - the first of its kind in the nation - carried out on Jim and Andy Werkhoven's dairy farm.
As federal, state and local officials worked together on the training drill, it became immediately apparent that a practice session such as this is critical should an actual terrorist introduction of a foreign animal disease occur.
"Everyone needs to know who their partners are," said Peter de la Cuesta, supervisory special agent with the FBI, pointing out that it's essential for all of the parties involved to know how to work together ahead of time.
The FBI considers a terrorist-introduced foreign animal disease such as foot-and-mouth disease a "biological weapon of mass destruction."
Partners in the exercise at the Werkhoven dairy included camouflage-attired soldiers from the Washington National Guard, state and federal veterinarians, and officials from the USDA, the Washington State Department of Agriculture and the Food and Drug Administration.
|
‘We Have to Plan to Survive’
|
|
Veterinarian Steve Van Wie, a USDA veterinary emergency responder, spent six months in England during the 2001 foot-and-mouth disease outbreak, serving as a contractor for the government. So serious was the situation that there were 845 veterinarians working in just one county that measured 1,065 square miles. Quarantine papers were issued in areas of concern, and the farm families who received them were not allowed to leave their farms. "We had the suicides," Van Wie said, referring to the emotional anguish the farmers and their families suffered. That experience taught Van Wie the importance of planning ahead. "We have to be able to contain it," he said. "The important thing is that we have to plan to survive." He said that should USDA announce that a serious foreign animal disease such as foot-and-mouth has been detected in this country, farmers - no matter where they live - should see it as "a fire siren, a tornado warning." "Farmers have to go into absolute security," Van Wie said. "To not do that could mean the loss of American agriculture." Checkpoints and barriers, including elaborate vehicle washes, would need to be established. "It would be a huge burden," Van Wie said. "But citizens will have to understand that it's worth it because the alternative is unthinkable." |
|
"Agriculture is a very large system," de la Cuesta said. "We look at it from the perspective of 'farm to fork.' An agroterrorism attack could have a huge economic impact on this country."
Paul Kohrs, assistant state veterinarian, said the 2001 outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease in England cost that country $13 billion - the largest expense in England's economy since World War II.
THE EXERCISE
The FBI's training drill began with a dairy farmer making a call to his veterinarian about a sick cow. Suspecting a serious disease, the veterinarian called the state Department of Agriculture, which sent out a state veterinarian to investigate the situation and take samples from the cow. Those samples revealed that the cow was infected by the highly contagious and crippling foot-and-mouth disease.
Had an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease really been discovered on the dairy, every cloven-hoofed animal within a 3-mile radius on the Werkhoven farm would have been quarantined - and possibly euthanized.
When the investigation revealed that the illness could have been caused by terrorists, the FBI and National Guard were called in.
As part of the investigation, some workers at the dairy farm said they had seen two individuals running from the dairy in the evening. One of the workers had found a shop towel the intruders had dropped and had thrown it away.
As part of the unfolding plot, an FBI Hazardous Materials team was sent to the dairy to collect the towel and any other forensic evidence, such as fingerprints.
FBI Hazardous Materials officer Dione Mazzolini said a virus-contaminated towel is one way for the disease to be transmitted.
As the hazmat team suited up, FBI Veterinarian Steve Goldsmith explained that feed, livestock and personal vehicles pose the biggest risk in spreading the disease.
In the 2001 foot-and-mouth outbreak in England, farms were quarantined to prevent the disease from spreading.
"Families were locked down week after week," Goldsmith said. "Kids couldn't go to school. There were suicides. It was a monumental issue."
But Goldsmith and USDA veterinary emergency responder Steve Van Wie also pointed out that in this country, no agency has the right to quarantine people. If the need should arise, the question would come down to which governmental agency would have the authority to issue quarantine orders.
AG REACTION
Jay Gordon, executive director of the Washington State Dairy Federation, and Patti Brumbach, executive director of the Washington State Beef Commission, said it was good to see federal agencies involved in an exercise such as this.
When asked what he would do if foot-and-mouth disease should show up in his area, Gordon didn't mince words.
"We'd all be at home, armed and guarding our borders making sure that nothing gets across."
For Jim Werkhoven, the exercise was a learning experience.
"It's hard to overestimate the economic disaster of something like this," he said. "We're really pleased that the FBI is thinking about it. If it happened here in this country, I would hate to think of the consequences."
Jack Field, executive vice president of the Washington Cattle Association, said it's extremely important for federal, state and local officials to be working together on this, especially considering how much livestock is moved each day.
"We move cattle farther and faster than in the past," he said. "A load of cattle that's loaded up today can be six states away by tomorrow."
NATIONAL DEFENSE
Three of the soldiers who participated in the exercise said it was an eye-opener for them.
"It gave me an insight into agroterrorism," said James Heard. "I never thought that an attack on agriculture could be so devastating."
Michael Peterson said that until the exercise he had never even thought about agroterrorism - "or how it could happen," he said.
"This gives us a good idea of where we fit into the puzzle," said Chad Choi.
Staff writer Cookson Beecher is based in Sedro-Woolley, Wash. E-mail: cbeecher@capitalpress.com.
http://www.capitalpress.com/main.asp?SectionID=67&SubSectionID=792&ArticleID=35851