With fears of smallpox and anthrax growing around the country, Pennsylvania farms -- with the help of the School of Veterinary Medicine -- have become tools in the tracking of potential bioterrorism.
A group of faculty members from the Vet School's New Bolton Center in Chester County is conducting a program for the mapping of animal farms in Pennsylvania.
"The goal is to map every kind of farming enterprise in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania," said Population Biology and Epidemiology Professor Gary Smith, who is also chief of the Section of Epidemiology and Public Health for the New Bolton Center.
"Knowing where the animals are is key," Pennsylvania State Veterinarian John Enck said.
The group running the project is called the Epidemic Disease Geographical Information System Unit, which is funded by the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture and composed of a dozen faculty members of the Vet School -- the only one in the state of Pennsylvania.
"It's a very good thing," said Barbara Porter-Spalding, a regional epidemiologist with the U.S. Department of Agriculture's veterinary services.
The mapping will cover only those industries that deal with animals -- namely, cattle, swine, poultry, sheep or equines.
Once the researchers collect all the data, they will use them to run computer simulations of the spread of diseases and infections in animals.
The methodology used for this project can also be employed to monitor possible instances of bioterrorism in which diseases are voluntarily introduced into the environment. As with natural diseases, researchers can devise possible scenarios in different kinds of situations.
"One context is very useful to the other," Smith said.
The final goal will be to enhance the effectiveness of disease control on farms by devising the best strategies for each situation, were an epidemic to break out.
"We can get an idea of what may actually happen," Smith said. These simulations "give us a menu of options."
The group formed about three years ago when a number of individual professors -- all interested in domestic farm species -- started working together on this project.
According to Smith, EDGIS considers both the size of the area and the amount of time needed for the infection to spread. The program also determines how the infected animals must be disposed of once they have been slaughtered.
According to Enck, this research is designed to "identify the animals and how they move... to intervene in the case of infection between animals and between animals and humans."
Up to this point, the project's only obstacle was the resistance of some farmers.
"It is an extraordinarily difficult matter to gain the confidence of farmers," Enck said.
Once a relationship is established, however, industry managers learn to appreciate the advantages that come with the project, according to Porter-Spalding.
"The information is given to the managers, allowing them to visualize it on a map," she said.
Thanks to the exchange of information, this relationship may develop into a two-way dialogue between researchers and members of animal industries, eventually permitting the latter to become more knowledgeable about the problems that can be caused by what Enck called "devastating diseases."
The U.S. Department of Agriculture is also trying to institute a similar project on a national level. However, investigations are handled mostly by state organizations, since they are the ones holding quarantine authority.
According to Enck, "this is an extension of everything we do to protect human health."
