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1. Annual Testing in Bovine TB Area Finds Infected Herd [MI]
Michigan Dept. of Agriculture and Rural Development News Release
April 23, 2015
Lansing - Routine bovine tuberculosis (TB) surveillance testing conducted by the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (MDARD) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) recently confirmed a medium size dairy herd as bovine TB positive in Alpena County. This is the 61st herd found in Michigan with bovine TB since 1998. Bovine TB is an infectious bacterial disease that affects cattle and white-tailed deer in Michigan's northeastern Lower Peninsula.
An informational meeting for beef and dairy cattle producers in Alpena County is scheduled for:
May 14, 2015 at 7 PM at the Green Township Hall, 14621 M 32 W., Lachine, MI 49753.
"Finding TB in a herd is always hard on the impacted farm. This case underscores why annual testing is so important and why we collectively continue to work toward eradicating this disease," said Dr. Rick Smith, Assistant State Veterinarian.
Full text:
http://www.michigan.gov/mdard/0,4610,7-125-1660-353091--,00.html
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2. Gov. Dayton declares state of emergency over bird flu outbreak [MN]
Article by: Paul Walsh
Minneapolis Star Tribune
April 23, 2015
Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton has declared a state of emergency over a bird flu outbreak that's killed millions of birds in the state's poultry industry.
The governor's order activates an emergency operations plan to support the state response to the epidemic.
It also calls for National Guard personnel to be ordered to duty as needed, but it wasn't immediately clear whether any personnel would be mobilized.
On Wednesday, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) reported the bird flu's presence in 13 additional turkey flocks in Minnesota. That brought the state's overall total to 44. Chicken operations in Iowa and Wisconsin have also been hit by the bird flu. There are 16 states now coping with the disease in commercial bird operations.
It also hit the first Minnesota chicken farm. A third-generation egg producer in northwestern Minnesota has been hit by the bird flu, marking the first time since this outbreak began that the disease has been detected in the state in commercially-raised chickens.
Full text:
http://www.startribune.com/lifestyle/health/301071801.html
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3. Second Maryland Horse Tests Positive for EHV-1
By Edited Press Release
TheHorse.com
April 22, 2015
A horse that was at the same breeding facility as a Montgomery County, Maryland, horse that was recently diagnosed with the neurologic form of equine herpesvirus-1 (EHV-1) has tested positive for virus, the Maryland Department of Agriculture (MDA) reported April 17..
The second horse, which is still at the breeding facility, had no signs of disease and was diagnosed via lab test result. Both EHV-1-positive horses are under care by private veterinarians and are in strict isolation, according to protocol.
The index horse had been at the breeding facility for more than two weeks before returning home on April 13. While at the breeding facility and during the first day home, the horse exhibited no signs of illness. On April 14 the horse began showing mild respiratory and neurologic signs and was examined by a private veterinarian, who reported the suspected neurologic illness to the MDA, as is required by law. Laboratory tests conducted by MDA confirmed the diagnosis. Following disease investigation protocol, MDA tested horses that were in close contact with the sick horse at the breeding facility. That investigation discovered the second positive horse.
Full text:
http://www.thehorse.com/articles/35690/second-maryland-horse-tests-positive-for-ehv-1
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4. USDA Confirms More Highly Pathogenic H5N2 Avian Influenza in Two Flocks in Minnesota
USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service Bulletin
April 23, 2015
WASHINGTON - The United States Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) has confirmed the presence of highly pathogenic H5N2 avian influenza (HPAI) in additional two flocks in Minnesota. No human infections with the virus have been detected at this time. CDC considers the risk to people from these HPAI H5 infections in wild birds, backyard flocks and commercial poultry, to be low.
USDA's National Veterinary Services Laboratories confirmed HPAI H5N2 in the following counties and states:
Pipestone County, Minnesota (April 22, 2015)
151 mixed poultry
Kandiyohi County, Minnesota (April 22, 2015)
62,600 turkeys
10th detection in this county
Full text:
http://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/USDAAPHIS/bulletins/100c0db
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5. Biosecurity for Birds: A Social Media Toolkit
USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service Bulletin
April 23, 2015
As you have probably been reading, since mid-December 2014, there have been several ongoing highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) H5 incidents along the Pacific, Central and Mississippi Flyways. Cases in wild birds, captive wild birds, backyard poultry or commercial poultry have been reported in Arkansas, California, Iowa, Idaho, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, North Dakota, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, South Dakota, Washington, Wisconsin and Wyoming. These states cover three of the 4 North American Flyways and we expect many more detections as the Spring migration is under way.
We know the best way to control the spread of this disease starts with poultry owners, hunters and bird enthusiasts -- and now we're asking for your help.
To help you navigate important information related to these events, we are announcing a new USDA Avian Influenza page* with aggregated resources to keep you up-to-date on announcements, resources and guidance you need to keep your flock safe.
[ *See: http://www.usda.gov/wps/portal/usda/usdahome?contentid=avian_influenza.html ]
We also recently held an interagency "ask the expert" Twitter chat focusing on good biosecurity practices for backyard poultry flocks and commercial poultry producers. We've posted the full Q&A on our Storify. We hope you can find some of your questions answered there.
[ See: https://storify.com/USDA/do-you-know-the-biosecurity-steps-to-protect-your ]
Please help us reach out to your own communities with crucial steps to keep flocks safe from disease. We have prepared a digital toolkit to get you started, including a badge to post on your website that will link visitors back to usda.gov/avianinfluenza. We've also provided ready-to-go materials for your social media channels to help you get the word out to the people who need it most.
Full text:
http://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/USDAAPHIS/bulletins/100aebd
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6. Bird Flu 'Catastrophe' Mounts Amid Concern Virus Is Airborne
By Megan Durisin and Jeff Wilson
Bloomberg
April 22, 2015
Deadly bird flu swelled in the poultry industry in Minnesota and neighboring Wisconsin amid speculation that winds may be carrying virus particles into facilities housing turkeys and chickens.
"This is a catastrophe for both the turkey and the egg industries," William Rehm, the president of Daybreak Foods Inc., said after his company's farm in Jefferson County, Wisconsin, with 800,000 egg-laying hens was infected by bird flu. "Some USDA veterinarians are starting to believe the virus is spreading from particulates in the air," he said Wednesday in a telephone interview.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture on Wednesday confirmed that avian influenza was found in 13 turkey flocks in Minnesota with at least 430,300 birds. Since late 2014, the virus has been detected in commercial and backyard flocks with a combined estimate of at least 8 million birds, USDA data show. Migratory waterfowl along a Mississippi River flyway are believed by to be spreading the flu, agriculture officials say.
On a Minnesota visit, "there were 20 mile per hour winds, and you could see a lot of dust blowing," John Clifford, the chief veterinary officer of the Washington-based USDA, said Wednesday on a media conference call. "So what we're talking about is the wind carrying potentially feathers or dust or things that could be a carrier of the virus and moving it" to structures with poultry, he said.
Full text: http://tinyurl.com/n2ryssy
See Also:
U.S. Poultry Seen Facing Largest Bird Flu Outbreak Since '83
By Rudy Ruitenberg
Bloomberg
April 22, 2015
The U.S. poultry industry may be facing the biggest outbreak of deadly bird flu in more than three decades, according to the World Organisation for Animal Health.
"They are dealing with a level of exposure that is probably unprecedented back to the outbreak in 1983 in Delaware and Pennsylvania," said Brian Evans, a deputy director general at the Paris-based intergovernmental group known by its French acronym OIE.
New cases of the highly pathogenic avian influenza were reported Wednesday in Wisconsin, including 800,000 egg-laying hens, the second-biggest chicken flock detected during the outbreak. The number of U.S. commercial and backyard poultry flocks ravaged by the disease has climbed to more than 50.
An outbreak of another H5N2 virus in the Northeast in 1983 and 1984 resulted in the destruction of 17 million chickens, turkeys and guinea fowl to contain and eradicate the disease, according to the USDA. There's no risk from cooked meat or eggs in the current outbreak, Evans said in a telephone interview.
Full text: http://tinyurl.com/n3shlwz
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7. Hunters asked to help with HPAI surveillance [MN]
EchoPress.com
April 22, 2015
Wild turkey hunters in Kandiyohi, Pope, Meeker, Swift and Stearns counties can help determine if highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) is present in Minnesota wildlife by allowing a sample to be collected from their turkeys.
"HPAI has not yet been found in wild turkeys, but it has been found in domestic turkeys in these and other Minnesota counties," said Michelle Carstensen, wildlife health program supervisor with the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. "We chose those five counties to enlist the help of hunters because they have sufficient wild turkey populations."
Starting this past Monday, the DNR is asking successful hunters in these counties to call to schedule an appointment at one of the participating wildlife offices and allow a sample to be collected from their turkey. Samples will include a swab of the trachea and, if the bird has not yet been field dressed, a swab of the cloaca as well.
Successful turkey hunters in these counties may call the following offices to schedule an appointment: Sauk Rapids at (320-223-7840; New London, 320-354-2154; Glenwood, 320-634-0342; Carlos Avery, 651-296-5290; Little Falls, 320-223-7869.
Full text:
http://www.echopress.com/outdoors/3727670-hunters-asked-help-hpai-surveillance
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8. Codex Alimentarius Commission: Meeting of the Codex Alimentarius Commission
Federal Register Volume 80, Number 77 (Wednesday, April 22, 2015)
Notices
Pages 22473-22475
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-09387]
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Food Safety and Inspection Service
Docket No. FSIS-2015-0011
Codex Alimentarius Commission: Meeting of the Codex Alimentarius Commission
AGENCY: Office of the Under Secretary for Food Safety, USDA.
ACTION: Notice of public meeting and request for comments.
SUMMARY: The Office of the Under Secretary for Food Safety, U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is sponsoring a public meeting on June 17, 2015. The objective of the public meeting is to provide information and receive public comments on agenda items and draft United States (U.S.) positions to be discussed at the 38th Session of the Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC), taking place in Geneva, Switzerland, July 6-11, 2015. The Deputy Under Secretary for Food Safety recognizes the importance of providing interested parties the opportunity to obtain background information on the 38th Session of the CAC and to address items on the agenda.
DATES: The public meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, June 17, 2015 from 1:00-4:00 p.m.
Full text:
http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2015-04-22/html/2015-09387.htm
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