By DEBORAH FRAZIER Scripps Howard
News Service
DENVER - Those
fuzzy sheepskin slippers, that tasty homemade sausage, that cool
cow's horn and the other travelers' trophies from Great Britain
could carry the foot-and-mouth virus.
The Colorado
livestock industry, Sen. Wayne Allard, R-Colo., and veterinarians
warned tourists Tuesday that the animal-based memorabilia could
ignite the epidemic here.
"There
are seven different foot-and-mouth viruses and they remain infectious
for 45 days," said Dr. Tony Knight, a professor at Colorado
State University's school of veterinary medicine.
"The
viruses can live on shoes, untreated hides, unpasteurized cheese,
wool and horn," he said.
That means
a clod of dirt, picked up on a boot during a ramble through rural
England, that fell on an airliner carpet and was picked up by
a farm youngster's sneaker could start an outbreak here, Knight
said.
In fact, the
disease in Great Britain is believed to have started at a restaurant
in northeast England that used foot-and-mouth-infected meat from
Asia. Knight said a local pig farmer used restaurant meat scraps
to feed his pigs, which became infected and sparked the outbreak.
Hundreds of
thousands of cows, pigs, sheep and goats have been killed or targeted
for death throughout Europe.
Allard, one
of two veterinarians in the Senate, questioned U.S. Department
of Agriculture officials during a hearing Tuesday on the precautions
at airports, including Denver International, that have direct
flights from England.
"The
USDA was very clear that tourism was the greatest threat of transmission
and would be upping their screening at airports," said Allard
spokesman Sean Conway. "Sen. Allard said it could spread
like wildfire."
Dave Carter
of the Rocky Mountain Farmers Union said ranchers have contacted
him about flying back from Europe with people who were in the
countryside, but weren't getting disinfected at the airport.
"You're
supposed to check a box on the immigration form, but passengers
know that if they do check it, they'll be in line for an hour
with the USDA, so they don't check it," said Carter.
And Brad Anderson
of the Colorado Livestock Association said several members of
that group have reported only spot checks at the Denver airport
for returning European travelers.
"Someone
here just came back from France and said some people on the flight
were checked by the USDA and some weren't," he said.
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