Zoonotic Diseases
- Thursday, January 13, 2022, 1:00 PM - 2:00 PM
Ulster County is home to a diverse array of agricultural enterprises and a long agricultural history. The fertile valleys of Ulster County have been cultivated for over 700 years, and the region was one of the earliest major agricultural areas in the United States, producing food for local populations, New York City, and export markets.
The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic has shed light on our food systems and brought more aspiring farmers and homesteaders into Ulster County. With this surge in people raising their own food, processors are booked well in advance. As a result, backyard chicken owners, and homesteaders are looking to process their own meat. This self-processing of meat comes with risks.
Commercial processors have gone through rigorous education and inspections to reduce the transmission of zoonotic diseases within their facilities. Backyard farmers and homesteaders have not gone through this education and training, may be unaware of these risks, or may feel that it’s an unnecessary concern. This lack of concern may give them a false sense of security. That is, they may believe their animals are healthy and disease free, and that transmission of zoonotic diseases on their property is unlikely.
The reality, however, is that zoonotic disease may still be present, even if an animal shows no signs of infection. Since these backyard farmers and homesteaders are processing their own animals, it is important to properly educate them on zoonotic diseases, including the transmission from animals to people.
Cornell Cooperative Extension of Ulster County will partner with Cornell University’s Renata Ivanek Miojevic Epidemiology Lab (https://blogs.cornell.edu/ivaneklab/team/renata-ivanek-miojevic/) to offer a zoom workshop on this topic of Zoonotic Diseases and the Backyard Farmer. Sebastián Llanos-Soto, a PhD Student in the Ivanek Epi Lab will present. Sebastián is a current PhD student and Fulbright grantee in the Department of Population Medicine and Diagnostic Sciences at the College of Veterinary Medicine, Cornell University. His research interests include the study of infectious disease dynamics in animal and human populations through epidemiological and mathematical modeling approaches.
Fee
Free, zoom link will be sent when you register
Register
https://cceulster.mahaplatform.com/events/jran5wmjh0
Location
This event is online
Last updated December 23, 2021