Ames, Iowa
February 10, 2004
A simulation designed to test a system that would alert the
nation in case of a crop bioterrorism attack passed its first
trial last month, according to an
Iowa State University
plant pathologist.
Forrest Nutter, Iowa State plant disease epidemiologist,
organized the exercise that was conducted Jan. 14 and 15 to
test the diagnostic and regional communications capabilities
in Iowa and Illinois. The test involved the plant disease
clinics at Iowa State and the University of Illinois, Iowa's
and Illinois' agriculture departments, the
U.S. Department of
Agriculture's Animal Plant Health Inspection Service
(APHIS) and the National Plant
Diagnostic Network (NPDN).
The test was overseen and evaluated by Carla Thomas, assistant
director of the Western Plant Diagnostic Network, who gave
high marks for those involved in the exercise. "We were really
pleased by the excellent coordination and communication that
occurred between the federal and state agencies including the
land grant universities, the state's departments of
agriculture, APHIS and NPDN," Thomas said.
The exercise began when a simulated soybean rust disease
sample in the form of a photograph was delivered to the Plant
Disease Clinic at Iowa State. After initial identification and
a preliminary diagnosis, the suspect soybean rust sample was
routed through the diagnostic network to the regional expert
lab for soybean rust at the University of Illinois, and then
on to the APHIS national lab in Beltsville, Md. for final
confirmation.
The entire process took fewer than 30 hours to complete, from
initial discovery to the completion of the communication plan.
Officials with the NPDN say they plan to continue simulations
with the goal to be fully operational by spring 2004. The
network and its systems will be frequently updated as it's
implemented across the nation.
"The exercise was very
successful and the participants all did a superb job in
carrying out their respective roles -- especially the
diagnostic clinicians, Paula Flynn at Iowa State and Nancy
Pataky at the University of Illinois," Nutter said.
Five regions make up the NPDN, each with a land grant
university serving as a regional center. These regional
centers, through the Cooperative Extension Service, interact
with growers and are often the first to know of any suspected
problems. Once notified, the regional center can use its plant
scientists and diagnostic labs to identify the pest or
pathogen and suggest an adequate treatment procedure.
Diagnostic labs in all 50 states are participating in the
National Plant Diagnostic Network. Iowa and Illinois are part
of the North Central Plant Diagnostic Network, based at
Michigan State University.
Nutter added that the plant
disease used in the test -- Asian soybean rust -- is not
present in the continental United States, but it is a plant
pathogen that presents a substantial threat to Iowa and
Illinois agriculture.
SeedQuest featured the National
Plant Diagnostic Network at
http://seedquest.com/spotlight/n/npdn/ |
