USAHA News Alerts

1. Animal Disease Traceability Plan Pointed In The Right Direction
By Shannon Linderoth, associate editor, Dairy Herd Management
CattleNetwork.com
September 1, 2010

Solutions, not spats.

That was the theme of the Joint Strategy Forum on Animal Disease Traceability sponsored by the National Institute for Animal Agriculture and the United States Animal Health Association in Denver earlier this week. And it was a welcome respite from the sometimes contentious commentary that surrounded the plan's predecessor, the National Animal Identification System that was scrapped earlier this year for the disease traceability approach.

The meeting was billed as a final opportunity to provide input to USDA before it writes the proposed rules for the new Animal Disease Traceability (ADT) framework. USDA also held three listening sessions (in Madison, Wis., Atlanta, Ga. and Pasco, Wash.) last month to gather additional feedback on the plan before drafting begins.

According to USDA, the proposed rule would require animals moved interstate to be officially identified (individually or by group/lot) and accompanied by an Interstate Certificate of Veterinary Inspection unless otherwise exempt. Any producer data would be controlled by individual state or tribal programs, and the plan would be performance- and outcome-based using traceability performance measures.

"This needs to be a flexible, coordinated approach that builds on what has been successful," says John Clifford, USDA-Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service chief veterinarian.

The agency plans to roll out the new rules next April, which will be followed by a 60- to 90-day comment period. The final rule would take effect about a year after the comment period closes.

Instead of focusing on the areas of least agreement - like voluntary vs. mandatory programs, religion and food safety - meeting participants tried a new approach. They spent most of their time on areas that could be agreed upon, like the idea that we really do need an animal disease traceability system in this country.

"The issues are still there, but we need to look at solutions we can give, improvements we can make to the plan," says Robert Fourdraine, chief operating officer of the Wisconsin Livestock Identification Consortium and president of NIAA.

For instance, attendees agreed that 9-character silver, or brite, tags offer a baseline for official animal identification; advanced technology, like electronic ID, may be used when preferred. And there was consensus that the ADT needs to reassess how and when it adds feeder cattle to the program. A number of organizations stepped up and offered educational support to help bring their members on board with the plan, as well.

Plan architects were also urged to find real-world solutions to problems and concerns, and look to states or programs that have already implemented traceability plans for guidance.

So did the ballroom-full group of veterinarians, animal health officials and industry representatives hold hands and sing campfire songs in perfect harmony? Not even close.

There's still much work to do. But the fact that the group did find major points of agreement, and that the general attitude was collaborative, not combative, is significant. There was helpful dialog with USDA officials throughout the sessions, offering hope that the concerns and suggestions were heard and will be incorporated into the final plan.

"There is no perfect system, there will always be failures along the way," says Dave Daley, associate dean of the College of Agriculture at Chico State University. "We need to quit trying to achieve an A on the initial step; we're never going to get there. If we can get a C on this plan, we'll be doing well."

We can improve the program as warranted - and it will be warranted, I'm sure. But we have to start somewhere. And it seems as though we are headed in the right direction. As was noted in the meeting, we have one more shot to get it right. So let's work together to make the most of this second chance.

[ See: http://www.aphis.usda.gov/traceability/ ]

Source: http://tinyurl.com/2fkno2w

2. What Does Discovery Of Bovine Tuberculosis In A Herd In Ohio Mean For Ohio Livestock Farmers?
Source: William Shulaw, Extension Veterinarian, Ohio State University
CattleNetwork.com
September 1, 2010

The July 7, 2010, press release from the Ohio Department of Agriculture announcing that a dairy herd had recently been detected with bovine tuberculosis (bTB) and subsequently depopulated was perhaps a surprise to some people, but to those who have been observing similar kinds of discoveries in other states, it was not. In fact in an article in the Ohio BEEF Cattle Letter that appeared just before the ODA press release, we briefly discussed biosecurity and the concern of introducing diseases, like tuberculosis and others characterized by "silent" infections, into herds and flocks. In the short term, the impact of this discovery on Ohio farmers will be rather minimal and limited to the herd affected, the herds in which animals from this herd were traced, and the regulatory agencies charged with the tracing and testing activity (of course they are supported with our tax dollars). Should additional herds be discovered in the next two years, the possibility of loss of our "free" status with respect to bTB exists. This could have a profound impact on Ohio farmers.

The current situation in Ohio and the USA, with respect to bTB, does give us some insight into changes that have occurred over the past 20-30 years. Herd size has tended to increase, especially in the dairy industry. Some of this expansion occurred with retention of natural additions to herds, but for many herds it also involved movement of animals from one herd to another. In some cases bTB has been traced to Mexican cattle entering the US as Holstein feeder animals and roping/rodeo steers. Unfortunately, in a few cases contact between these animals and other animals destined for breeding herds has occurred. This time frame has also seen the growth of farmed deer, elk, and bison herds, much of which was unregulated until recent years and in which some level of bTB may have persisted.

The conspicuous feature of this change is the nature and amount of animal movement. In a recent news article, it was reported that last year more than 19 million of the nation's 30 million beef cows and 9 million dairy cows crossed state lines. (1) It is now fairly common for herds, both beef and dairy, to contain animals that were born in one state; raised, comingled with other animals, and bred in one or more different states; and relocated to yet another for breeding or production purposes. In fact, in the Ohio herd recently found with bTB, the animals in that herd had their origin in at least 17 different states and Canada. Much of this movement is done with no, or minimal, attention to the potential for introduction of disease. Some of it is done illegally; perhaps more than we would like to believe. The recent National Animal Health Monitoring System surveys suggest that routine biosecurity measures for animal disease prevention are not regularly practiced by many farms. (2) Diseases like bTB, Johne's disease, anaplasmosis, and BVD are readily moved about by animals that are infected but which show no visible signs of disease. This tremendous amount of movement of animals back and forth across the country, which happens virtually every day, has led some people in the animal health field to observe that we now have a "national" herd merely split up among different temporary owners. To the extent that animals are moved without individual identification and records, the job of tracing disease outbreaks becomes enormous.

(1) http://billingsgazette.com/news/state-and-regional/montana/article_e8fb5028-a30a-11df-a254-001cc4c03286.html
(2) http://nahms.aphis.usda.gov/beefcowcalf/beef0708/Beef0708_is_Biosecurity.pdf and http://nahms.aphis.usda.gov/dairy/dairy07/Dairy07_ir_Biosecurity.pdf

Full text: http://tinyurl.com/2wf9exe

3. Americans Urged to Prepare for Disasters, Include Animals in Their Plans
AVMA News Release
PRNewswire
September 1, 2010

SCHAUMBURG, Ill.-- The American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA), a proud participant in the seventh annual National Preparedness Month sponsored by the Federal Emergency Management Agency's Ready Campaign, encourages Americans to take action now to prepare for emergencies.

This year, National Preparedness Month focuses on encouraging all Americans to take active steps toward getting involved and being prepared. Preparedness is everyone's responsibility, and working together as a team ensures that individuals, families and communities are ready. Individuals are encouraged to make a family emergency plan, put together an emergency supply kit, be prepared to help your neighbor and work as a team to keep everyone safe.

And that includes family pets and other animals, including livestock, according to AVMA President Dr. Larry Kornegay.

"It is often too late to react properly to an emergency or disaster - either natural or manmade - after the fact, and things become even more hectic when pets or other animals are involved," Dr. Kornegay says. "That's why the AVMA believes it is critically important for everyone to have an emergency plan in place - and to practice that plan. Being prepared is some of the best insurance you can have when it comes to dealing with an emergency situation and minimizing the trauma."

The AVMA has a wide variety of disaster preparedness resources available on its website at http://www.avma.org/disaster.

For more information about the Ready Campaign and National Preparedness Month, visit http://www.ready.gov/ or call 1-800-BE-READY, TTY 1-800-462-7585.

Full text: http://tinyurl.com/32bsknv

4. Woman arrested for not reporting dangerous horse disease [FL]
WinkNews.com
September 1, 2010

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - Florida Agriculture and Consumer Services Commissioner Charles H. Bronson today announced the arrest of an Indian River County woman who allegedly tried to conceal from authorities her two horses that were infected with Equine Infectious Anemia (EIA).

Arrested by Bronson's Office of Agricultural Law Enforcement (OALE) was Regina Chesser, 56, of Fellsmere. She was charged with failure to report a dangerous transmissible disease, which is a second-degree felony.

Authorities allege that Chesser brought her horse "Dolly" to a Vero Beach veterinary clinic to be tested for EIA. When the test results were positive for EIA, authorities with the department's Division of Animal Industry attempted to contact Chesser only to find that she had given the alias Cheryl Hearndon with a false address and phone number to the clinic and used a an email address registered to a friend. The false information was given because Chesser believed "Dolly" was infected with the EIA virus.

The case was turned over to Bronson's Office of Agricultural Law Enforcement to initiate a criminal investigation of the matter. After an extensive search, Chesser's true identity and location were discovered. Authorities then learned that there were two horses on Chesser's property and subsequent testing showed that both of the horses were carriers of EIA.

Full text: http://tinyurl.com/24bwpwc

5. West Nile virus found in area horses [PA]
By staff
Southern Chester Co. Weeklies
September 1, 2010

West Nile Virus was found in two horses in Lancaster and Montgomery Counties the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture announced yesterday. The presence of the disease in eastern Pennsylvania suggests that local horse owners increase their vigilance in protecting their animals against this disease.

Transmitted by mosquitoes and occasionally other blood-sucking insects, West Nile Virus causes an inflammation of the brain and spinal cord that can result in a variety of symptoms including fever, lack of coordination, weakness, muscle twitching, colic and intermittent lameness. Approximately a third of all horses exhibiting signs of the illness do not survive. Although the disease is now considered endemic to all of North America, risk of exposure varies with changes in populations of insect carriers.

A two-pronged approach of vaccination and management is the most successful way to avoid the disease, according to Ray Sweeney, VMD and Chief of Medicine at New Bolton Center, the large animal campus of the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine. "Proper vaccination has been very effective in reducing the number of West Nile Virus cases in horses, from an outbreak situation a few years ago to practically no cases reported in horses in Pennsylvania in more recent years," says Dr. Sweeney. "There is a concern that if we let our guard down and stop vaccinating horses, we will begin to see more cases again. Vaccination against West Nile Virus is very effective, but it doesn't last forever. Horse owners are encouraged to check with their veterinarian to find out whether a booster vaccination is recommended."

Full text: http://tinyurl.com/33ojzyz

6. Purdue vet school to increase enrollment
Journal and Courier
September 1, 2010

The Purdue University School of Veterinary Medicine is increasing its enrollment.

The university announced today the school will be accepting more students to meet a national need for a larger veterinarian work force in areas such as public health, biosecurity, food production and research.

Starting in fall 2011, the school will expand its doctor of veterinary medicine class size by 20 percent, from 70 to 84 entering students. This larger class would graduate in 2015.

The School of Veterinary Medicine will need to modify some of its classrooms and will offer laboratory courses in sections to adjust for the increased enrollment. The enrollment increase will not change the admission process for students.

Full text:
http://www.jconline.com/article/20100901/NEWS0501/100901013

7. Possible fresh case of foot-and-mouth disease discovered in Miyazaki Pref. [Japan]
Mainichi Daily News
September 2, 2010

MIYAZAKI -- Livestock at a farm in Miyazaki Prefecture are displaying symptoms similar to those of foot and mouth infection -- which devastated the region's beef industry earlier this year -- prefectural officials announced Sept. 2.

Prefectural officials have taken samples from the animals at the dairy farm in the city of Ebino and sent them to Tokyo for testing, and results of genetic analysis are expected sometime on the evening of Sept. 2. The Ebino Municipal Government has furthermore opened an emergency session to deal with the discovery.

Meanwhile, a livestock auction market in Kobayashi, Miyazaki Prefecture, suspended operations for four days starting Sept. 2, and the some 600 calves already at the market will be held there. A livestock market in the prefectural city of Miyakonojo also suspended a scheduled auction the same day.

The prefectural government had declared an end to operations to eliminate the last outbreak of the virus just a week before, on Aug. 27, and had begun a program to revive the livestock industry and local economy.

At a Sept. 2 news conference, prefectural officials announced that one cow out of some 400 at the farm in Ebino had developed a fever, was drooling and had a detached mucous membrane underneath its tongue -- all foot-and-mouth symptoms. The Miyakonojo livestock hygiene service center reported the case to the prefecture on Sept. 1. The prefecture confirmed the damage to the mucous membrane on the top of its tongue on Sept. 2, took pictures and saliva samples, and sent them to the National Institute of Animal Health. The animal's fever had apparently abated somewhat, but it's condition could not be confirmed based on the photos.

"It seems unlikely this case is related to the earlier infections," said the head of Ebino's livestock and forestry section. "This may be a new incidence, and we submitted samples to get confirmation. We would like to secure disposal sites to prepare for possible infections."

Full text:
http://mdn.mainichi.jp/mdnnews/news/20100902p2a00m0na009000c.html