Biosecurity practices and travel history of individuals exhibiting livestock at the 2005 California State Fair.
OBJECTIVE
To determine biosecurity practices and travel history of individuals exhibiting livestock at the 2005 California State Fair.


METHODS
Survey.


METHODS
137 individuals exhibiting livestock at the fair.


METHODS
Exhibitors were asked to complete a survey to gather information about the animals they exhibited, the biosecurity practices they used, and the distances they traveled to exhibit their animals.


RESULTS
132 of the 137 (96%) respondents came from California, with respondents representing 40 of California's 58 counties. Median number of livestock exhibitions attended by respondents during the past 12 months was 3 (range, 1 to 7). Respondents indicated that 787 of the 812 (97%) animals they exhibited would be returned home after the fair. Nine (7%) respondents indicated that they did not take any particular biosecurity precautions before arriving at the fair, and 14 (10%) indicated that they did not take any particular biosecurity precautions while at the fair. Only 36 (26%) respondents indicated that they quarantined their animals when returning to their farm of residence after the fair.


CONCLUSIONS
Results indicated that there was extensive movement of livestock among exhibitions in California, posing a potential threat for widespread dispersion of disease throughout the state and beyond, particularly given the low percentages of exhibitors who used various biosecurity measures.
Thunes
Clair
C
Center for Animal Disease Modeling and Surveillance, Department of Medicine and Epidemiology, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, USA.
Carpenter
Tim E
TE
D000822:Animal Husbandry / Q000379:methods* / Q000592:standards; D000818:Animals; D002140:California; D002417:Cattle; D003140:Communicable Disease Control; D003141:Communicable Diseases / Q000635:transmission / Q000662:veterinary*; D018562:Disease Transmission, Infectious / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000662:veterinary*; D005260:Female; D005536:Foot-and-Mouth Disease / Q000635:transmission*; D029544:Foot-and-Mouth Disease Virus / Q000254:growth & development*; D006041:Goats; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011790:Quarantine / Q000662:veterinary; D012756:Sheep; D013552:Swine