Roy Exum
I suspect you’ve heard by now that a doctor in New York City, who volunteers with “Doctors Without Borders,” just got back from the African nation of Guinea on October 17 – last Friday – and on Thursday tested positive for the deadly Ebola virus.
Luckily, he came in actual contact with only a few people but he reportedly rode a subway, took a taxi, went on a three-mile run and spent one night bowling with friends before he started feeling badly and exhibited a fever of 103 degrees.
I applaud Dr. Craig Spencer for his efforts to help ravaged people in Africa and I have every confidence that he will get through his sickness with the help of America’s dazzling medical resources. Yet I also think we ought to pay a little more attention to what we already know really works.
Dr. David Rustebakke is a large-animal veterinarian in far-away Clarkston, Washington. He’s been practicing for over 40 years and he knows quite a bit about “horse sense,” because almost every patient he has is really a horse. The guy is a professional, trained and experienced in four-legged patients.
Clarkston, aptly named for explorer William Clark of the Lewis & Clark Expedition, is in southwest Washington and is where the Snake and Clearwater Rivers meld. The town is the gateway to North America's deepest gorge, Hells Canyon, and it is a pretty spectacular place where Dr. Rustebakke often rides his own horses and views the world’s splendor.
As a veterinarian, he also understands viruses better than most, so not long ago he wrote a “Letter to the Editor” that appeared in the nearest newspaper, the Lewiston (Idaho) Tribune. And, yes, the Idaho town was named for Meriweather Lewis, William Clark’s pal.
See if you don’t think Dr. Rustebakke’s letter makes a little sense:
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To The Editor:
If I wish to import a horse into the United States from Liberia or any African country other than Morocco, the horse needs to undergo a 60 day quarantine period at a USDA approved quarantine facility prior to mingling with the general population of horses in this country.
Africa has a disease called African Horse Sickness that does not exist in the US; this is the way we have kept it out of this country. African Horse Sickness does not cause disease in people, only horses; our government has determined that it would be devastating to the US horse industry if it were to come here.
The United States (and virtually all other countries) require a myriad of tests and often quarantine prior to bringing in a foreign animal.
I can’t legally cross state lines in the United States with a horse or cow without a health certificate signed by a USDA accredited veterinarian stating that the animal has been inspected and found free of infectious disease. In most cases blood tests are also required. In fact I can’t legally cross the Snake River and ride my horse in Washington without a health certificate and a negative blood test for Equine Infectious Anemia.
I’m not complaining; the United States of America, the States of Idaho and Washington, as well as the other 48 states take the health of our livestock very seriously, and we have a very good record at keeping foreign animal diseases out of our country. I am happy to do my part to maintain biosecurity in our animal population.
If I am a resident of Liberia incubating Ebola, to enter the United States all I need to do is present a valid visa, and lie when asked if I have been exposed to Ebola. Within hours (no quarantine required) I can be walking the streets of any city in the United States.
I feel very fortunate to live in a country that values our animals so highly.
David A. Rustebakke, DVM
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Dr. Rustebakke’s point is well made. While a 60-day quarantine may be a reach, it stands to reason that a self-imposed safe-guard/quarantine of some type by those who treat Ebola would be most beneficial in a country where a vaccine is not yet plentiful.
It might be that a waiting period between the time a passenger in an Ebola-stricken country buys an airplane ticket and boards a plane to the United States might also help but one thing is for certain: there has never been a horse in America with African Horse Sickness because – never forget this -- we are smarter than that.
royexum@aol.com