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Checkmate: Stopping Pathogen Spread After Mitch
By Jill Lee
To most living things, hurricanes are not good news. Germs and bugs, however, get great benefits from them.
The storms provide free transportation into farming communities for certain pests, and rotting tropical produce forms a buffet for flies. While flourishing, these pest can prevent exports and threaten local communities with hunger.
Carol Wilson, with FAS’ International Cooperation and Development (ICD) program area, developed a post-Hurricane Mitch pathogen control plan. Wilson, currently on assignment with the U.S. Agency for International Development, drew on the talents of scientists with USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, U.S. universities and many others. Her plan will help many storm-affected countries: Honduras, Guatemala, Nicaragua and El Salvador in Central America and countries in the eastern Caribbean.
"Central American governments asked for our help because they need to revitalize their economies and one way to do this would be to export their products to the United States and remain active trading partners," said Wilson. "For this to happen, they know that they must do a thorough job of identifying pathogens. They also need access to technology that will reduce and control outbreaks."
Tracking Pathogens Down
Agronomist Weyman P. Fussell, ICD’s specialist on this project, explains why the mapping of pathogens is so critical.
"Mediterranean fruit fly has never been eradicated in these countries, so fruits such as mangoes or papayas coming to the United States must be certified as having been grown in a region that is pest-free, or be treated to kill the flies," he said. "A lot of work had been done to map the presence of fruit flies, but the hurricane disrupted the ecosystem, moving the pest around. Now our maps need to be revised."
Fussell said he was drawing heavily on the expertise and local presence of APHIS. In particular, Kelly Preston, an APHIS veterinarian, had been active in relief efforts as well as Mark Knez, a plant health specialist also with APHIS.
"If Central American producers could export non-traditional tropical fruits and vegetables to the United States it would provide an economic safety net," Knez said. "A good example of non-traditional export is mango. But these countries cannot export mangoes to the United States until they are certified to be free of fruit flies. APHIS is currently assisting in the construction of a mango hydrothermic treatment facility in Honduras that will enable local groups of producers to export their product to the United States during the 2001 mango season."
Additionally, APHIS has developed other Mitch-related projects, pest-free zones; pest surveillance and control, and training of Central American specialists in specific APHIS-designed plant health courses–taught in Spanish. They are also working through APHIS-supervised export programs.
It All Begins With
Water
In addition to assistance at the farm level, there is also a food safety component to FAS’ work in Central America.
"Suzanne Heinen, the U.S. agricultural counselor based in Guatemala, was instrumental in ensuring the public had safe water and food," said Wilson. "She used food aid programs to ensure a lot of people in Honduras and Guatemala would continue to have access to safe food and water."
Wilson and Heinen also arranged a conference on water quality in Guatemala through the Centers for Disease Control and prevention in Atlanta. A larger one is being planned for the summer.
Microbiologist Ivor Knight, an associate professor of biology at James Madison University, attended.
"Technicians need to know about cutting-edge instruments to detect pathogens," Knight said. "During floods, there is a lot at stake. The risk goes beyond unsafe wells–if contaminated water is used to irrigate crops or water livestock, pathogens can spread even further."
Diseases such as cholera are a special threat to residents of remote villages and farms at a time of floods. After being trained at the conference, technicians will travel far out to affected regions, where they will test for pathogens and, if necessary, take steps to protect the communities.
"The conference brought people together from a lot of the damaged regions," said Knight. "They could discuss what kind of pathogens they were seeing and how to rebuild systems. With know-how like that in place, the next storm won’t wreak such devastating after effects."
Land Grants Are Instrumental
Kelly Preston, the APHIS veterinarian on this project, says his main concern is ensuring that there is no screwworm infestation from the thousands of cattle being sent in cargo ships monthly from Corinto, Nicaragua, to Ensenada, in Baja California, a state of Mexico. The reason: Baja California, which is screwworm free, is right next to San Diego, California, where the pest has also been eradicated. It’s Preston’s job to make sure things stay that way.
With USAID funding, obtained through ICD, Preston has overseen upgrading of diagnostic laboratories that will keep track of screwworms. In addition, he helped set up an effective mapping system so any pest outbreak in Nicaragua or Honduras can be charted and contained.
He has also been working on tick control projects. But he didn’t do all this work alone.
Batman to The Rescue!
Vampire bats, which were a major problem in Nicaragua prior to the hurricane, are now even more of a problem! They attack horses and cattle–and are known to spread rabies.
"We like to call William Kern at the University of Florida our ‘Batman’ because he is the contact for this problem," Preston said. "He will be helping the ranchers find better ways to protect their livestock–both from the bat attacks and rabies."
Actually, Kern’s first outreach project in Nicaragua was to help sugarcane, rice, corn and bean farmers deal with rats.
"It was only later that we found out he was a world-renown expert on bats," said Preston. "And that was good news. The bat problem was already reaching Biblical proportions before the disaster–we’re really glad he is working on some control efforts."
Vampire bat control has two goals, according to Kern.
"First it is to protect people and livestock from injuries and the spread of disease. Second, we want to make sure that beneficial bats, the kind that eat disease-causing insects–are not mistakenly killed," said Kern. "Bats pollinate flowers, remove over-ripe fruit that could be a haven for fruit flies and promote reforestation by spreading seeds."
There are only three species of vampire bats, and only the common vampire bat is abundant. The common vampire bat is rare in undisturbed forest, but modern ranching and farming provide the perfect conditions for vampire bats to find lots of food, increasing their numbers alarmingly, Kern said.
"Texas A&M University created a computerized mapping system that will allow us to map disease patterns in a professional and accurate manner," Preston said. "Rainfall, roads and waterways all play a role in pathogen spreads, and the system takes all that complexity into account."
When cattlemen and ranchers told Preston one of their concerns was ticks–especially those that seem pesticide resistant–he contacted Texas A&M. The farmers worry because not only can these insects spread diseases, they also damage hides so that they are worth less money.
"Texas A&M University scientists will be training local officials in tick surveillance techniques, as well as helping us with upgrading laboratory facilities," he said.
Farmers who produce crops will also be getting advice on
controlling disease in the wake of Hurricane Mitch. 
"In some of these communities a single outbreak of crop pests can be devastating, and certain agricultural practices such as monocropping make the farmers more vulnerable," said Fussell. "We provide these producers with information they need to protect themselves from hunger and open the door to economic opportunity."
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The author is a public affairs specialist with the FAS Information Division, USDA, Washington, D.C. Tel.: (202) 720-7939; Fax: (202) 720-1727; e-mail: leejill@fas.usda.gov
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