USAHA News
United States Animal Health Association
Contact:  Larry Mark - (703) 451-3954 - ldmark@erols.com


For immediate release:

TWO MORE STATES JOIN NATIONAL DISEASE REPORTING SYSTEM

	MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. Oct. 17, 2006 -- All but six states are now actively participating 
in the National Animal Health Reporting System (NAHRS), according to a report presented at a 
meeting of the Committee on Animal Health Information Systems here this week.  The committee 
is a joint effort of the U.S. Animal Health Association (USAHA) and the American Association of 
Veterinary Laboratory Diagnosticians (AAVLD).
        
        According to the report, only Connecticut, Georgia, Iowa, Missouri, New Mexico and Rhode 
Island are non-participants to date.
        
        Under NAHRS, state animal health officials report on a monthly basis on the occurrence or 
non-occurrence of specific diseases listed by the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE).  The 
U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) uses this 
information in a number of different ways.  The data provides the basis for the annual report that 
the United States is obligated to make to OIE.  The information also supports trade negotiations 
and is useful in providing access for U.S. animal agriculture products in world markets.
        
        The NAHRS “Online Reporting Application,” which was developed and implemented in 2005, 
has greatly simplified animal disease reporting procedures.  This has led to consistent 12-month 
reporting by all 44 reporting states.
        
        The Committee also heard a report on a recently released “Surveillance and Data Standards” 
document by APHIS.  This document will guide all APHIS Veterinary Services national and regional 
surveillance planning, development, implementation, operation and evaluation.  It provides guidelines 
on types and formats of data to be collected, as well as for proper data entry, storage and structuring 
of data systems for integration with existing and future databases.
        
        APHIS also is developing a system to facilitate the collection of sample information and other 
data by field personnel so that it subsequently can be seamlessly transmitted to laboratory, state and 
federal databases.
	
        The Committee also heard about new techniques to improve animal disease detection, including 
increased use of automated sampling/processing/testing/reporting devices -- such as PCR-based “sniffers.”  

        It was noted that while properly designed surveillance systems can provide a wealth of information 
on the overall health status of animal populations, early detection of specific diseases still depends on 
hands-on discovery.

					###