This mock battle specifically tested the North American animal health community's emergency communications plans, how quickly they could make decisions such as when to start vaccinating healthy cattle, and the reliability of the North American FMD Vaccine Bank, which is housed in a maximum security lab in Plum Island, New York. New, advanced, Australian computer software ran the exercise much like a war game, with the computing outcomes based on CFIA-inputted assumptions for factors such as wind speed and direction, and the amount of direct and indirect contact between animals based on the best scientific knowledge available. The actual simulation ran only from November 6 to 9 but CFIA staff stretched the scenarios out in the computer to 180 days. A nightmare from start to finish The North American outbreak begins on October 15 when a south Texas swine producer drives to Brownsville to pick up food scraps for his livestock from a foreign ship loaded with garbage. The uncooked scraps carry FMD and within a few days of feeding, his hogs show symptoms.
Several litters die.
Unfortunately, he sold some hogs through a nearby auction mart on October 20, a full 12 days before he places the call. This market becomes the first hub of the 2000 FMD outbreak. Between October 21 and 23, contaminated slaughter cows head to Mexico, infected feeder calves move to a Texas cattle operation, and some roping calves are hauled to the livestock expo and rodeo in Harlington, Texas. From the Harlington rodeo, FMD took 2 routes north into Canada. Some Alberta team ropers carried it back home on their clothing, on their horses and in a contaminated stock trailer.