Previous Experience and
Quarantines "Human beings
have probably caused all of the major plant disease epidemics
in history,
mostly by moving plants and pathogens from their points of
origin to every corner of the earth... Tremendous plant losses could
have been prevented with earlier restrictions" (Plant Diseases: Their
Biology and Social Impact, Gail Schumann, APS Press) What are the
loopholes in our current system of inspection? How effective
are quarantines; what are the variables? Can we improve the system? --------------------------------- Cynthia L. Ash - 11:00am Jun 24, 1996 EDT (#1
of 5) Director of Scientific
Services It appears that the
specifics of each situation along with established scientific
knowledge are critical
in making quarantine decisions. Consider this 1985 quote from Dr.
Norman Borlaug,
former Director of the CIMMYT Wheat Program: "The US Border
Patrols, and the US Immigration and Customs Officials are unable to exclude either the introduction
of thousands of tons of marijuana or the influx of hundreds of thousands of
undocumented workers (not only from Mexico, but from many Latin American and Asian
countries). Nor can they control the millions of birds that migrate back and forth
between North and South America each year. That being the case, what are the
chances that plant quarantine officials will be able to keep the spores of any number
of diseases from crossing into the US from Mexico? The answer is obvious to
any microbiologist." Looks like we are walking
a fine line. What do you think? Gerald Holmes - 10:49pm Jul 5, 1996 EDT (#2
of 5) Univ. Calif. Coop. Ext.
Imperial Co. I had heard rumor of this
statement by Dr. Borlaug. I'm glad to see that it's real. I
happen to agree with Dr. Borlaug, but a weed science colleague of
mine says there are plenty of examples in his discipline where
quarantines have worked effectively. I'm not knowledgeable enough
to debate him on the issue, but even if it were true, wouldn't
the movement of most weed seed be more easily restricted than
fungal spores...or would they? William Brown - 07:57pm Jul 13, 1996 EDT (#3
of 5) I do not believe that we
are saying all quarnantines are of no value. There are many
disesase agents (i.e., grape viruses, vegetatively spread
pathogens, etc.) as well as weeds and some other pests, that are
very ammenible to effective quarantine. Especially between
continents. But when you have a pathogen that first and foremost
is not even a significant (biologically that is) threat and then
is on our boarders and can be spread in the air, I seriously
question the fantastic overkill ($27 million for openners) we are
seeing with Karnal bunt. Whose ego, poor judgement, vested
interest, or what ever, is driving this? Mike Ottman - 04:29pm Jul 17, 1996 EDT (#4
of 5) University of Arizona Does anyone know of any cases where a fungal
pathogen such as Karnal bunt was prevented from spreading by
quarantine regulations? Has this ever been tried? Apparently,
there are cases of quarantines being effective in controlling the
spread of insects, weeds, and certain types of diseases. © Copyright 1996 by the American Phytopathological
Society
