Planning “Plan B”: The Case of Moving Cattle From an Infected Feedlot Premises During a Hypothetical Widespread FMD Outbreak in the United States

In the event of a foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) outbreak in the United States, “stamping out” FMD infected premises has been proposed as the method of choice for the control of outbreaks. However, if a widespread, catastrophic FMD outbreak in the U.S. were to occur, alternative solutions to stamping out may be required, particularly for large feedlots with over 10,000 cattle. Such strategies include moving cattle from infected or not known to be infected operations to slaughter facilities either with or without prior implementation of vaccination. To understand the risk of these strategies, it is important to estimate levels of herd viremia. Multiple factors must be considered when determining risk and feasibility of moving cattle from a feedlot to a slaughter facility during an FMD outbreak. In addition to modeling within-herd disease spread to estimate prevalence of viremic animals, we explore potential pathways for viral spread associated with the movement of asymptomatic beef cattle (either pre-clinical or recovered) from an infected feedlot premises to offsite harvest facilities. This analysis was proactive in nature, however evaluation of the likelihood of disease spread relative to disease (infection) phase, time of movement, and vaccination status are all factors which should be considered in managing and containing a large-scale FMD outbreak in the United States.