State Officials Meet To Discuss Diseases Affecting Livestock

State officials will meet in Jefferson City tomorrow todiscuss what to do should an outbreak of disease hit the state’s livestock population. State Veterinarian Doctor Taylor Woods says an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease or avian influenza could cause damage in the billions of dollars and would hit every aspect of the food chain, not just farmers. And, he says the source of the diseases could be a natural outbreak or a terrorist attack from either a foreign or domestic source. Doctor Woods says even the rumour of a disease can cause millions of dollars in losses.