AgroterrorismVeterinary students train to help in agro-terrorism situations

Four Kansas State University veterinary medicine students experienced a summer filled with disease and disaster — and this is just what they wanted. The students, who are in the Veterinary Training Program for Rural Kansas, took part in two different U.S. Department of Agriculture preparedness programs: the foreign animal disease practitioner’s training course and agriculture emergency response training. The programs train veterinarians to aid in relief efforts and protect the public in hazardous situations.

Vetsweb.com reports that Jodi Wright, Burrton, Tiffany Moses, Manhattan, both third-year veterinary medicine students, took the foreign animal disease practitioner’s course at the National Animal Disease Center in Ames, Iowa. They participated in interactive lecture sessions on foreign animal diseases that are a potential threat to the United States. Some of the speakers were Webcasted from the Plum Island Animal Disease Center in New York. The training also included various hands-on labs and a mock foreign animal disease outbreak that let them apply the proper measures to handle the emergency.

Michelle Colgan, second-year veterinary medicine student from Lawrence, and Amy Gerhardt, third-year veterinary medicine student from Netawaka, took part in agriculture emergency response training at the Center for Domestic Preparedness in Anniston, Alabama. They learned how agroterrorism and chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, and explosives hazards can potentially affect agricultural resources and the community. Lecture subjects included disease surveillance; prevention, control and eradication; foreign animal diseases; response actions; and more. The hands-on training included proper use of personal protective equipment and surveying and monitoring tools. They also learned about crime scene preservation.

Because of the number of feedlots in the state, Kansas could be a prime target for agro-terrorism. The students said the training helped them develop skills needed to be effective helpers in case of an incident - accidental or intentional.