K-State is Now On a Mission to Estimate the Potential Economic Losses From Possible Foreign Animal Diseases

Nestled in the Flint Hills of Kansas is the town of Manhattan, home to Kansas State University. Take a drive across Kansas State University today, and signs of a major focus on biodefense, and animal agriculture specifically, are everywhere. 

“We have NBAF here, which is the National Bio Agro-Defense Facility, that's on the edge of campus. So, K-State really is right in the middle of the animal health industry,” says Dustin Pendell, director of the collaborating center for the economics of animal health Americas region, K-State University.

Pendell received some exciting news this summer: K-State had been chosen to lead a five-year global animal health effort, by opening a new center. Called the Collaborating Center for the Economics of Animal Health, Americas Region, the K-State University professor and economist already had some ambitious goals. 

“In a decade from now, I hope that anywhere across the world, if anybody needs anything done related to economics for animal health, animal burdens or animal welfare, they immediately turn to K-State,” he says.  

Starting to Assemble the Building Blocks

Pendell and team are just starting on the building blocks, ones that will develop decision-making tools and improve communication on the economic impacts of animal diseases 

“When we think about this center, it's veterinary data, it's the disease data, including disease prevalence and disease incidents, in addition to economic data, like prices and quantities,” says Pendell. “But it takes a whole team of people and including data from a whole bunch of different sources and different disciplines to come together to study these animal health economic issues.”

K-State was selected by the World Organisation for Animal Health, which represents countries within North and South America. 

“There are 33 countries in the Americas region that are members of the World Organisation for Animal Health. You’ve got Canada, Mexico, the United States. You also have all of Central America, and then South America and the Caribbean Islands,” he explains. 

Pendell says here at home, livestock producers across the country are on high alert about the potential threat of animal diseases. 

“Upfront, some of the current diseases that are here are high-path avian influenza, which was introduced recently, and you have ASF (African Swine Fever) knocking at the door. That’s another one that's important,” says Pendell. “We're working on some other diseases, endemic diseases, like bovine respiratory disease, etc., with folks over in the College of Veterinary Medicine. So, there's going to be more than one disease (studied), per se. It's going to probably be more of a portfolio approach.”

Sorting Out Priorities By Country

But he points out every country is different, so the focus for the U.S. is not always the same as the concerns for a country like Brazil. 

“I spent some time in  Brazil last month where they're talking about TB, they're talking about brucellosis issues that are a little different than maybe here in the United States,” he says. “And so there'll be a lot of different issues, a lot of different diseases that we will focus on.”

The team is currently carving out the answer to what the priority diseases are by country, to then uncover the potential impact of the animal diseases that pose the biggest threat. 

“Right now, we're trying to visit with the various governments, and the animal health officials in these countries, to figure out what are the issues that that are most relevant, timely for them,” says Pendell. “Eventually, as we get up and running, it's going to be anywhere from the producer to the consumer, and everybody in between, including the governments.”

National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility Located Next to K-State

Conveniently located down the road from Pendell is the new NBAF facility, a joint effort between the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), to protect agriculture against possible foreign animal diseases. While the research is not new, the location is. 

“NBAF needed to replace Plum Island because Plum Island is more than 65 years old, and it doesn't have the capability to meet growing research and diagnostic needs when it comes to emerging diseases, which are those that are new or not well known, as well as zoonotic diseases, which are those that transfer between animals and humans,” says Christian Young, biological scientist with the Foreign Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory. “So, NBAF will be able to continue as well as expand upon Plum Islands’ mission to protect U.S. agriculture and our food supply against terrorist attacks, major disasters and other emergencies.”

Pendell says having NBAF in Manhattan, Kan., was also a selling point to why the center he’s leading made sense, as he will explore the possible economic impacts of those potential diseases. 

“The biggest opportunity being here in Manhattan, Kan., at Kansas State University, is I think the animal health industry here is only going to grow because of NBAF,” says Pendell. “I think there's going to be so many opportunities in this space to add an economic component to the research that's going on in this animal health space.”

An Important Tool for Livestock Producers, Livestock Industry

Pendell knows it’s a big undertaking, but it’s one that could change the game for livestock producers not just in Kansas, but around the globe. 

“It's important for livestock producers, because this is their livelihood. So our goal is to produce tools in which they can evaluate various biosecurity measures that can reduce the likelihood of a disease outbreak on their individual operation and protect their livelihood,” says Pendell.