USAHA News Alerts

1. Illinois Hosts the National Veterinary Stockpile and Multi-State Partnership Foot-and-Mouth Disease Logistics Exercise
Illinois Dept. of Agriculture Press Release
June 30, 2009

SPRINGFIELD, IL - The Illinois Department of Agriculture was pleased to host the National Veterinary Stockpile (NVS) and Multi-State Partnership Foot-and-Mouth Disease Logistics Exercise this month. The exercise was co-sponsored by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service-Veterinary Services (USDA APHIS-VS), NVS, and the Multi-State Partnership for Security in Agriculture (MSPSA). The purpose of the logistical exercise was to test and evaluate APHIS VS Emergency Management and Diagnostics (EM&D) and participating states' emergency logistical response actions related to an FMD outbreak. The three day training included a table top exercise that discussed the logistical components of emergency response at all levels in the event of an FMD outbreak.

"This exercise gave us along with our counterparts at the state and federal levels the opportunity to test our emergency livestock disease response methods and learn from one another," said Illinois Ag Director, Tom Jennings. "This gave us the opportunity to collaborate with other states, and make sure there was no duplication of efforts in order to develop a more coordinated, comprehensive response to an emergency livestock disease event. We believe this was a very successful training."

Following the two day table-top portion of the exercise, a full-scale exercise, which simulated emergency logistical response to a widespread FMD outbreak, was also held and highlighted the role of the NVS as a responding organization. The NVS is a national repository of critical veterinary supplies, equipment, vaccine and services needed by first responders to an animal disease outbreak. In the event of an animal disease outbreak, the necessary supplies would be shipped to a central location and then redeployed to the affected area. During training, participants unloaded the supplies, ran inventory and simulated redeployment.

Full text:
http://www.agr.state.il.us/newsrels/r0630091.html

2. Public health veterinarian sees challenges in infection trends
JAVMA News
July 15, 2009

Food safety is not improving as quickly as hoped, and recent outbreaks of illness involved produce contaminated with pathogens typically associated with animal products, Dr. Kristy Bradley said.

"It does beg the question of where the veterinarian's role is now in that farm-to-fork continuum," Dr. Bradley said. "Certainly, veterinarians are very critical in working with producers, to make sure they are counseling them on preventative medicine and working to keep animals healthy."

The president-elect of the National Association of State Public Health Veterinarians, Dr. Bradley is also Oklahoma's state public health veterinarian and state epidemiologist. She said the April 10 Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention not only showed that progress toward reducing illnesses from some foodborne pathogens had stalled but also illustrated problems in modern food production and distribution systems.

"I think it reflects really the globalization and changes from traditional food production to something that is so much more immense," Dr. Bradley said. "The global distribution and intensive factory type of farming production of our meats, dairy, and produce products, and also how quickly these products are moved from different countries to different points of distribution, really present some unique challenges in the 21st century."

Dr. Bradley noted illnesses from some pathogens may appear to increase as laboratory technology improves. She does not think that all increases evident in the FoodNet data are related to those developments.

Full text:
http://www.avma.org/onlnews/javma/jul09/090715e.asp

3. CEM probe passes 6-month mark, involves 48 states
DVM Newsmagazine
July 1, 2009

National Report -- Federal and state veterinary investigators continue to look for the source of an outbreak of contagious equine metritis (CEM) that began more than six months ago in Kentucky and now involves horses in 48 states.

"The epidemiologic investigation continues to pursue all available information relative to determining the origin of the outbreak, but no conclusions can yet be drawn," according to the latest update on the USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) Web site. Some state investigators have said the source may never be known.

So far, 21 stallions and five mares have been confirmed positive for T. equigenitalis, the causative organism for the disease. Eight of the stallions were found in Wisconsin, four in Kentucky, three each in Indiana and Illinois and one each in Georgia, Iowa and Texas. Two positive mares were identified in California, two in Illinois and one in Wisconsin.

In addition to the positive horses, 952 others are known to have been exposed. The total 978 are in 48 states, with only Hawaii and Rhode Island having no positive or exposed horses.

Full text: http://tinyurl.com/lwejl3

4. Volusia, FL leads state in Eastern equine encephalitis horse deaths
By Anne Geggis
Daytona Beach News-Journal
July 1, 2009

Five horses, two in the last week, have died of a mosquito-borne illness in Volusia County in the last year -- the most horses of any Florida county to die of the fatal disease.

The deaths from Eastern equine encephalitis led the Volusia County Health Department on Tuesday to remind residents of its 2-month-old public health advisory for the illness that's also fatal to humans.

No human cases of Eastern equine encephalitis have been reported in the state at this time. Statewide, however, in 26 of Florida's 67 counties, positive samples for the disease have been found in 30 horses, one captive bird, 45 sentinel chickens and 36 live wild birds.

Full text: http://tinyurl.com/nonvy8

5. Coordinated Pushback Could Help Contain Bovine Bacterial Diseases
CattleNetwork.com
July 1, 2009

Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists at the National Animal Disease Center (NADC) in Ames, Iowa, are in a longstanding battle against two serious bacterial infections of livestock: Johne's disease and bovine tuberculosis.

Experts believe that almost 70 percent of U.S. cattle herds are infected with M. avium subspecies paratuberculosis (MAP), the bacterium that causes Johne's disease. NADC microbiologist John Bannantine and colleagues took information from the MAP genome to assemble an array of 96 proteins. Then they used the array to identify gene sequences that might be useful in confirming a Johne's disease diagnosis, or that might serve as targets for disease intervention and treatment.

Bannantine's team found three proteins that consistently drew the strongest "attacks" from serum antibodies, an immune response that clearly linked the three proteins with the onset of the disease. With additional work, these antigens might provide crucial building blocks for the development of a diagnostic tool for Johne's disease.

Meanwhile, NADC microbiologist Judy Stabel has been studying the early stages of MAP infection and finding ways to diagnose the disease in young animals. She has also helped evaluate animal models for MAP research, and has concluded that a smaller ruminant model-such as goats or sheep-shows promise.

Full text:
http://www.cattlenetwork.com/Content.asp?ContentID=327255

6. Russia lifts, softens flu meat bans on U.S., Canada
Reuters
July 1, 2009

MOSCOW - Russia has lifted a ban on meat imports from the U.S. states of Connecticut, Massachusetts and Michigan, and from Canada's Quebec province due to the improved situation surrounding the H1N1 virus.

Russia's animal and plant health watchdog has also softened a ban on the U.S. state of Illinois and Canada's Ontario province, applying the restrictions only to imports of live pigs and uncooked pork, a statement by the watchdog Rosselkhoznadzor, seen by Reuters on Wednesday, said.

Major meat importer Russia applies two types of ban arising from fears of the flu spreading.

The spread of the virus, commonly known as swine flu, is not caused by pigs and pork, but some countries including Russia have reacted to the name of the disease.

A ban on imports of all types of meat is applied to Mexico, Central American and Caribbean states, as well as the U.S. state of Wisconsin.

Full text:
http://ca.reuters.com/article/businessNews/idCATRE56037O20090701

7. Industry Responds To HSUS Interview
CattleNetwork.com
July 1, 2009

Livestock producers took to the airwaves this morning to respond to yesterday's [June 30] interview by AgriTalk's host Mike Adams of Wayne Pacelle, Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) president.

"We're here to help animals, not hurt them," a Missouri poultry producer asserted this morning on AgriTalk's call-in radio program. He cited personal experience, and said that there are numerous independent research studies on poultry housing that show that mortality rates double - or even triple - for laying hens raised cage-free versus those housed in cages due to natural animal crowding behavior. "How is that humane?" he asked incredulously.

Adams recalled Pacelle's claim that HSUS is willing to work with agriculture to develop better conditions for animals; however, that conversation seems to be a one-way street. HSUS is willing to sit at the negotiating table as long as agriculture agrees with what HSUS wants.

To this end, a New York caller said of the "negotiations" that took place in Colorado, HSUS says it negotiated the timeline on certain practices from 10 years to 20 years. "It really was a negotiation of the terms of surrender," the caller noted.

Callers also found Pacelle arrogant and thought his ego was bruised by Ohio's response to HSUS involvement in its livestock industry. And they wanted to know, why is the HSUS way the only way that animal agriculture can improve?

David Martosko, research director for the Center for Consumer Freedom, joined the conversation, adding that Pacelle performed "masterfully" yesterday in refusing to be pinned down for what he really is, an animal-rights activist leading an animal-rights group. HSUS is just PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) with better wristwatches and better suits, according to Martosko.

[Listen to the podcast - http://www.agritalk.com/podcast/index_all.php
Select the show for June 30, 2009.]

Full text:
http://www.cattlenetwork.com/Content.asp?ContentID=327279