The greater Kansas City, Missouri, area had a stinky experience in early November. We monitored media to see if animal health pros might add some thoughts about it. To date we’ve seen nothing, but questions remain.
If smells from hog operations, cattle feedlots, poultry operations and ethanol plants can be trapped in a low, fast moving front and transferred over 300 miles, what diseases could have ridden along? Kirk Augustine
Source: RT.com/USA, November 7, 2019. Link. When the US National Weather Service weighed in on the stinky scare explaining the smell was brought by unfortunate weather circumstances. Using a high-resolution reverse trajectory model, they determined a cold front picked up a batch of air from farmlands north of the city and brought it to the urban area. The front extended over 300 miles into southern Minnesota and prevented it from dissipating into the higher layers of the atmosphere.
INSIGHTS: We have no specific answers to what can be transferred aerially, but its worth more than a casual thought. We welcome input from public health veterinarians. Drop us a note.