Source: Marty Vanier, 785-532-6193, mvanier@k-state.edu
http://www.k-state.edu/media/mediaguide/bios/vanierbio.html
News release prepared by: Katie Mayes, 785-532-6415, kmayes@k-state.edu
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
STATE, FEDERAL OFFICIALS COUNT ON K-STATE'S NATIONAL AGRICULTURAL BIOSECURITY CENTER TO TEST DISASTER READINESS, ASSESS RISK
MANHATTAN -- After the terrorist attacks of 9/11, emergency preparedness officials across the nation ramped up their efforts to plan for disaster. In Kansas, this included planning how to protect not only humans, but also the state's substantial livestock population.
Since it was established in 2002, experts at Kansas State University's National Agricultural Biosecurity Center have worked with a variety of state and federal agencies to examine exactly how well the agricultural and law enforcement sectors would work together in case of an animal disease outbreak. In Kansas, this work has involved the Kansas Animal Health Department, which would lead state response efforts in case of such an outbreak.
"The reality is that the introduction of a highly infectious animal disease, whether accidental or intentional, could cause economic chaos in Kansas," said Marty Vanier, director of operations of the National Agricultural Biosecurity Center. "In Kansas, where agriculture is a primary economic driver, disease is a serious proposition. To not take an active role in finding ways to mitigate such an attack is shortsighted."
The center has organized four wide-ranging preparedness exercises to test how well ranchers, veterinarians, law enforcement and various governmental agencies would work together in such an emergency. In all, the center's expertise has been tapped for 13 exercises at the local, state, and national level. They have addressed scenarios from radiological contamination of the water supply to a nationwide outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease.
But incident response planning and risk analysis are only part of the center's mission. Other projects include:
* A $3 million grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Animal Plant Health Inspection Service to evaluate the best and most efficient way to dispose of animal carcasses in case of a disease outbreak, and to look at how foreign animal and plant diseases might enter the country.
* An effort to upgrade the ability of K-State's Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory to process numerous samples in case of a widespread animal disease outbreak. As a member of the National Animal Health Laboratory Network, the lab has incorporated high-throughput technologies like robotics to quickly process diagnostic samples in case of an outbreak.
* A multimillion-dollar research project for the Natick Army Soldier Systems Center, where K-State food scientists are evaluating methods to ensure that what soldiers eat and drink while deployed is free of pathogenic organisms or biological toxins.
* A U.S. Department of Defense project to create a system to gather information on animal disease and food safety in countries around the world. A Web-based tool to gather, categorize and put such data into context is being developed at K-State.
The National Agricultural Biosecurity Center was established partly in response to the terrorist attacks of 9/11, but evolved mostly out of K-State's longstanding commitment to food safety and security. That commitment dates back to the university's Homeland Defense, Food Safety, Security and Emergency Preparedness Program," penned by university officials in March 1999.
Each project at the center often comes with significant funding from governmental agencies such as the Department of Defense, the Department of Agriculture's Animal Plant Health Inspection Service and the Department of Justice's National Institute of Justice.
More information on the National Agricultural Biosecurity Center is available at http://nabc.ksu.edu