It’s a common tactic for animal rights extremists to attempt to take advantage of unfortunate situations faced by the animal agriculture community. This includes the devastating spread of avian influenza among poultry flocks right now. Extremist groups are adamantly working to twist the narrative by spreading misinformation that this is a public health concern. Per usual, there’s a lot more to the story than these groups would like you to believe.
It is true that avian influenza is considered a zoonotic disease, which is any disease or infection that can naturally pass from animal to human. However, what extremist groups often leave out are the many proactive and preemptive measures put in place by the animal agriculture community to limit exposure and spread of disease – to both animals and humans. You can rest assured that the animal agriculture community is working every day to protect your health.
Protecting human health begins with biosecurity
Today’s farmers are using science and technology more than ever before to prevent the transmission of zoonotic diseases. One way this is accomplished is through biosecurity measures. Biosecurity is how we prevent diseases from being transferred to people, animals, and properties. The goal of biosecurity is to keep diseases off farms and/or prevent them from spreading further.
The United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) runs agricultural biosecurity programs. Through these programs, NIFA helps to detect animal diseases, performs research to guide legislation, and provides support to farmers.
NIFA helps to advance our understanding of biosecurity on a large scale, but many individual farms also have biosecurity measures in place. This includes washing down each vehicle that enters the property, only allowing in authorized visitors, and even ensuring that each person entering a facility showers before and after visiting a bio-secure location.
Other common biosecurity measures include having clean facilities, following a veterinarian-approved vaccination program, providing fresh food and water to animals, and having separate housing for sick or susceptible animals away from the general population. When new animals enter the facility (or return after events like a county fair), they are often quarantined for two weeks to watch for any signs of disease or illness. Sick animals can be reported to a farmer’s local veterinarian, extension office, or even state and federal veterinarians who can provide support and guidance. By following these simple biosecurity measures, farmers can keep people and animals from getting sick. These biosecurity measures also promote animal welfare and ensure a safe food supply.
What about avian influenza?
The USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) provides resources, research, and help with animal diseases. APHIS is currently working to prevent and control the spread of avian influenza, which can infect wild and domesticated birds. Through APHIS’ wild bird surveillance program, it “collects and tests large numbers of samples from wild birds in the North American flyways” for avian influenza. These wild birds may have avian influenza but often don’t show any symptoms and could transfer it to commercial and backyard flocks if certain precautionary measures aren’t taken. APHIS is also releasing a series of guidance documents, including response plans, to prevent the further spread of avian influenza.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) also offers a One Health program. This program is working to achieve “optimal health outcomes recognizing the interconnection between people, animals, plants, and their shared environment” on a global scale. One Health runs many programs, but some of their key goals are to prevent antibiotic resistance, prevent and control zoonotic diseases, prevent animal diseases, improve mental well-being through the human-animal bond, and prevent water contamination that could be the cause of illness for people and animals. The CDC and USDA also partner with 4-H and FFA to educate youth involved in agriculture about zoonotic diseases and how to prevent their spread.
Responsible antibiotic use
One final way that agriculture is protecting your health is through the prevention of antibiotic resistance. All meat, milk, poultry, and eggs you find in the store is free of harmful antibiotic residues thanks to animal health and food safety protocols. Any that test positive for antibiotics are discarded. This may surprise you, but the use of antibiotics in food animals is actually declining. This is because of improved management practices, biosecurity measures, vaccines, genetics, and more. Studies have also shown that the most urgent antibiotic resistance threats are not related to animal agriculture. There is a one in a billion chance of antibiotic treatment failure due to resistance from common antibiotics used in animal agriculture.
Today, the animal agriculture community is placing a large emphasis on protecting animal AND human health. By using measures like biosecurity, following expert guidance on animal diseases, and responsible antibiotic use, today’s farmers are able to keep people and animals healthy all while promoting animal welfare and ensuring a safe food supply!
All posts are the opinion of the author and do not necessarily represent the view of the Animal Ag Alliance.
