Chapter 15: Face to Face Communication

As usual, I’m going to relate the material on Face to Face communication to my research interest: the equestrian industry. This past December, several horses were imported to the US from Europe. The animals arrived in New York, where they underwent the mandatory quarantine period. After being released from the quarantine facility, the animals were trucked down the East Coast to Wellington, FL. Soon after their arrival, a number of horses in the Wellington area became ill. They exhibited symptoms of fever, lethargy, loss of appetite, nasal discharge, and neurological abnormalities. Veterinarians quickly diagnosed the illness: Equine Herpes Virus (EHV). The local vets, with the help of veterinarians from the Florida Department of Agriculture and the USDA, realized that the virus was transported to the area by the imported animals. The horses from Europe passed the illness along to their stable mates after they arrived at their South Florida digs.

EHV is not new illness; it’s a strain of the more common (and far less fatal) Rhino virus. Outbreaks of EHV occur periodically in the US, but they are generally contained and limited in scope. The illness is highly contagious among horses, and is largely fatal once it begins affecting the neurological system.

Word of the disease spread quickly among the Wellington equestrian community. In addition to their concern for their animals’ health, people feared the illness would affect the Winter Equestrian Festival competition. The WEF is one of the most prestigious equestrian competitions in the nation. Many European riders ship their horses to the states to participate in the horse show. Beginning in January, the competitions run for ten weeks. The Wellington community depends on the business of the show horses and their entourages. Competitors rent stables and hotel rooms, frequent restaurants and tack shops and buy equine supplies. Trainers depend on the coaching fees they earn during the WEF.

The local equestrian community, in cooperation with the USDA and Florida Dept. of Agriculture held an open meeting on December 16 to inform concerned equestrians exactly what was occurring. They needed to stop the rumors, and make sure their public received the correct information about the outbreak. Over 600 people attended the press conference hosted by the company that organizes the Winter Equestrian Festival. A team of veterinarians, including representatives from the UF College of Veterinary Medicine, vets from the Florida Department of Agriculture, the USDA, the University of Kentucky (a credible, outside expert), and the Wellington veterinarian who first recognized the illness presented at the meeting. The vets explained the chronology of the outbreak and the source of the illness. They informed concerned equestrians about the quarantine procedure for stables with infected horses, and told stable managers how to monitor their animals for potential new cases. They reviewed precautionary procedures to help keep the illness from spreading further (such as strict sanitation procedures for people coming into contact with infected animals). Vets concluded that it was not necessary to restrict equine movement except for the animals in quarantined facilities. Only one weekend of competition was cancelled due to the illness.

From what I’ve read about the situation, it appears that the press conference achieved its goals of informing people about the status of the illness and how to prevent further spread of the disease. Press conferences were held on a regular basis throughout the course of the outbreak, and equestrian organizations posted daily updates and replays of the press conference on their web sites. The EHV outbreak was controlled quickly (within two weeks of diagnosis), and the equestrian community endured only minimal financial losses. All of the quarantines have since been lifted. At the last count, nine horses fell ill with EHV and five of them died of the disease. Considering the vast number of horses in the Wellington area for the competitions, this is a remarkably low incidence. This is one instance in which the equestrian community was successful in reaching its audience and thus managing a crisis situation largely through solid face to face communications skills.

http://www.floridahorse.com/2006EHVConf.html