Searl, Richard (1919-1989)

Richard Searl spent thirteen years as a practicing veterinarian in Southwest Iowa and later became a veterinary consultant for Fort Dodge Laboratories. He served on the Iowa Veterinary Medical Association's Hog Cholera Eradication Committee as well as the Iowa Hog Cholera Eradication Committee. In the course of the fight against the hog cholera virus, controversy developed over the use of modified live virus vaccines and killed vaccines.

The first outbreak of hog cholera was officially recorded in Ohio in 1833, though there were reports of its existence in Indiana in 1830. From that time until the declaration on January 31, 1978 that the U.S. was hog cholera-free, many millions of dollars were lost in the hog industry due to the disease. As early as 1880, losses were estimated at $10 to $25 million annually. Even with vaccination, hog cholera outbreaks persisted, and in 1956, principles for eradication were set out by the U.S. Livestock Sanitary Commission. The following year, Livestock Conservation, Inc., appointed a steering committee to develop plans for industry participation in the eradication effort. Federal funding for a cooperative federal-state program began in 1963. In 1964, goals set by Livestock Conservation, Inc., and endorsed by other groups called for called for an elimination of outbreaks by 1969, and a cholera-free nation by 1972. Unfortunately, though much progress had been made by 1972, a large outbreak beginning in the Southeast resulted in the declaration of a national emergency. Outbreaks continued with decreasing frequency, and the last case was reported August 1, 1976.

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