WASHINGTON, D.C. The
U.S. remains free of foot-and
mouth disease (FMD) and Bo
vine Spongiform Encephalopa
thy (BSE), or what is commonly
referred to as mad cow disease.
There have been no cases of ei
ther disease in the U.S., due in
large part to aggressive preven
tion measures designed to protect
U.S. cattle herds and assure the
safety of the beef supply for
American consumers. Below is a
summary of facts about FMD
and BSE, including prevention
measures for both:
Foot-and-Mouth Disease:
• Background
Foot-and-mouth disease
(FMD) is a highly contagious
viral disease that does not affect
humans but has devastating ef
fects on animals with cloven
hooves, such as cattle, swine,
sheep, goats and deer. The
U.S.has not had a case of foot
and-mouth disease since 1929, an
outbreak that was quickly con-
Fair Announces
Ticket Sale
For Grandstand
It’s beginning to look a little
like summer with The Great Al
lentown Fair announcing its
grandstand concert lineup for
fhc 149th exposition ending on
the Labor Day holiday.
Both the announcement of the
shows and the ticket sale date is
earlier than usual, according to
Bonnie Brosious, fair marketing
director and talent buyer. Tick
ets to all six concerts featuring a
mix of pop, rock and country
music will go on sale starting
Saturday, March 24 at 10 a.m.
Classic rock bands Styx and
REO Speedwagon will open the
fair on Tuesday, Aug. 28. Pop
rockers Vertical Horizon, SR-71
and Nine Days will perform on
Wednesday, Aug. 29. Two back
to-back country nights follow
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315-531-9497
US. Remains
tained and eradicated.
There are seven types of the
FMD virus, all of which have
similar symptoms. Immunity to
one type does not protect ani
tnals from other types. The aver
age incubation period for FMD is
between three and eight days,
but can be up to two weeks in
some cases. The disease is rarely
fatal but may kill very young an
imals. Animals that survive are
often debilitated and experience
severe loss in milk or meat pro
duction.
Foot-and-mouth disease is a
highly contagious virus and can
be spread by movement of in
fected animals, movement of
contaminated vehicles, and by
contaminated facilities used to
hold animals. It also can infect
animals through contaminated
hay or feedstuffs and if suscepti
ble animals drink from a com
mon water source.
While FMD is not considered
with Kenny Chesney and Lee
Ann Womack on Thursday,
Aug. 30 and Brooks & Dunn
with special guest Toby Keith on
Friday, Aug. 31.
Alternative rock group Blink
182 will play on Saturday, Sept.
1 and pop boy-band 98° rounds
out the musical bill on Sunday,
Sept. 2. Special guests for the
Saturday and Sunday shows will
be announced at a later date.
The fair will close with J & J
Demolition Derby on Labor Day
Monday, Sept. 3.
Tickets for the concerts vary
in price from $29 to $36 and in
clude admission to the fair if
purchased in advance. There are
reserved track and grandstand
seats for all of the shows except
the Wednesday and Saturday
rock concerts when there is
festival-style, general admission
on the track and reserved seats
in the grandstand. The demoli-
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TLC Animal Nutrition
4069 Lower Valley Rd. • Parkesburg, PA 19365
Aaron Kanagy
60 Pleasant Maple Ln
Belleville, PA 17004
Prouty Farm Supply
2723 Rt. 96
Ovid, NY 14521
607-869-5990
• Spread
1-888-508-2290
Northeast Nutri-Ag
RR 2 Box 285-D
Myerstown, PA 17067
1-800-375-8780
Free OF BSE And FMD
a threat to human health, people
who come in contact with the
virus can spread it to animals
through clothing, footwear or
other equipment/materials. The
virus can harbor in the human
nasal passages for as long as 28
hours. Wind also can spread the
virus through the air.
• Economic Effects
If FMD were to occur in the
U.S., the degree of economic im
pact would depend on how
quickly the disease was identified
and effective control measures
put in place. If it was controlled
quickly and eradicated, as was
the case with the last outbreak in
the U.S. in 1929, the damage
might be small. However, if the
disease became widespread, the
economic loss could easily be
many billions of dollars.
The most serious effects would
result from the necessity of de
stroying animals in order to
eradicate the disease. In addi
tion, countries with FMD experi-
tion derby prices are $ll general
admission and $6 for children
under age 12.
Special hours at the Fair Box
Office are from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.
on Saturday, March 24. The box
office is located east of the
Farmers Market on the Allen
town Fairgrounds at 17th and
Chew stieets. Cash, Visa, and
Master Card are accepted at the
box office.
Tickets may also be pur
chased at Ticketmaster outlets
during outlet hours and will be
available seven days a week over
the phone and on-line. Ticket
master charge-by-phone num
bers are (215) 336-2000 and
(570) 693-4100. Ticketmaster
on-line is accessed through
www.ticketmaster.com or using
a link on the “star performers”
page of the fair’s Website at
www.allentownfairpa.org. Tick
etmaster sales also start at 10
a.m. on Saturday.
Tickets remain on sale at the
fair box office Mondays through
Fridays 10 a.m.-2 p.m.
For more information about
tickets or the fair, call (610) 433-
7541 or visit the fair’s Website.
Discover^power
Eli Hostetler
9199 Back Mt. Rd
Milroy, PA 17063
ence restricted exports.
The U.S. Department of Agri
culture (USDA) regularly moni
tors for any disease among U.S.
cattle herds and takes aggressive
steps to prevent FMD from
spreading to the U.S. whenever
there is an outbreak in other
countries:
- As part of its ongoing surveil
lance program, the USDA con
ducts hundreds of field inquiries
each year in an effort to detect
animal diseases that might affect
livestock.
- When there is an outbreak of
FMD in another country, the
U.S. temporarily prohibits the
importation of animals and ani
mal products from that country
into the United States. These re
strictions augment those already
in place on ruminants and rumi
nant products to prevent the in
troduction of BSE into the U.S.
- The government also prohib
its travelers from carrying into
the United
States any
agricultural
products,
particularly
animal
products
BUY,
SELL,
TRADE
OR
RENT
THROUGH
THE
CLASSIFIED
ADS
IN
Lancaster
Farming
PHONE
717-626-1164
OR
717-394-3047
Weaver’s Animal Shack
RR 4 Box 4256
Fleetwood, PA 19522
610-944-0593
Lancaster Farming, Saturday, March 24,2001-A25
• Prevention
that could spread FMD. Passen
gers are required to identify any
farm contact to Customs and
USDA officials. All baggage is
subject to inspection. Violations
could result in penalties of up to
$l,OOO.
- A team of experts (40 federal,
state and University officials) is
sent to the European Union or
other country with an outbreak
to monitor, evaluate and assist in
containment efforts.
- There is heightened alert at
ports of entry and airports to en
sure passengers, luggage and
cargo are checked as appropri
ate. This includes placing addi
tional inspectors and dog teams
at airports to check incoming
flights and passengers.
- USDA officials also are sta
tioned around the globe to moni
tor and coordinate with the state
agriculture officials.
- USDA recently initiated an
aggressive public education cam
paign that includes additional
signage in airports, public service
announcements, website, and
other tools to inform the public
about this important issue and
steps they can take to prevent it
from entering the United States.
(Turn to Page A 26)