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1. Minn. Lawmakers Drawing up Contingency Funding Plans for Bird Flu
KSTP.com
April 24, 2015
Top Minnesota lawmakers say they're developing contingency plans that would allow state agencies to more easily access emergency response dollars if the spread of avian influenza intensifies.
Republican House Speaker Kurt Daudt and Democratic Senate Majority Leader Tom Bakk say they're aiming to give Gov. Mark Dayton's administration flexibility and access to special emergency accounts in case the crisis hitting poultry farms worsens after the Legislature adjourns next month. Bakk says that could entail making the bird flu response eligible for disaster assistance normally associated with severe storms or flooding.
The House agriculture budget bill is on hold while officials determine what money could be needed to fight the outbreak that has cost Minnesota's turkey farms almost 2.6 million birds already.
An initial $900,000 for bird-flu response awaits legislative action.
Meanwhile, the Minnesota Department of Public Safety Homeland Security Emergency Management Division activated the State Emergency Operations Center to coordinate the state's ongoing response to avian influenza.
HSEM will coordinate resource needs with several state agencies including the Minnesota Board of Animal Health and the Minnesota Department of Agriculture.
Full text:
http://kstp.com/article/stories/s3776869.shtml
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2. Avian influenza confirmed in second ND flock
By WDAZ Staff
WDAZ.com
April 24, 2015
BISMARCK, N.D. - The United States Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) has confirmed the presence of highly pathogenic H5 avian influenza (HPAI) in a commercial turkey flock in LaMoure County, North Dakota. The premises contained approximately 69,000 turkeys and also about 2,000 chickens.
A presumptive positive case was first identified by the University of Minnesota's Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory and confirmed by the APHIS National Veterinary Services Laboratories in Ames, Iowa. This is the second case confirmed in North Dakota. A response team has been working with a Dickey County poultry farm since the first case was confirmed earlier this month.
Full text:
http://www.wdaz.com/news/3730306-avian-influenza-confirmed-second-nd-flock
See Also:
USDA Confirms More Highly Pathogenic H5N2 Avian Influenza in Four Flocks in Wisconsin and Minnesota
USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service Bulletin
April 24, 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 four flocks in Wisconsin and 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:
Chippewa County, Wisconsin (April 23, 2015)
56,500 turkeys
Clay County, Minnesota (April 23, 2015)
175,000 chickens
Kandiyohi County, Minnesota (April 23, 2015)
Turkeys (number pending)
16th detection in this county
Kandiyohi County, Minnesota (April 23, 2015)
Turkeys (number pending)
17th detection in this county
Full text:
http://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/USDAAPHIS/bulletins/100f065
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3. USDA Awards Almost $3 Million in Research Grants to Increase Food Security Through Improved Livestock Health
USDA Office of Communications Bulletin
April 23, 2015
WASHINGTON - The U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) today announced three grants designed to boost food security by minimizing livestock losses to insects and diseases. The awards to support research, education, and Extension efforts were made through NIFA's Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI), which is authorized by the 2014 Farm Bill.
"These grants will allow scientists to discover the new tools and technologies necessary to deal with the threats insects and pathogens pose to livestock production in our nation, which ultimately benefit consumers through abundant, affordable food." said Sonny Ramaswamy, NIFA director.
NIFA made the awards through the AFRI Food Security challenge area, which seeks to increase sustainable food production. Priority was given to projects that will improve prevention, early detection, rapid diagnosis, or recovery from new, foreign, or emerging diseases or arthropods (like fleas and ticks) that have the potential to cause major impacts on food security. NIFA will make additional awards later this spring through the AFRI Food Security challenge area that focus on minimizing crop losses by arthropods and diseases.
The fiscal year 2014 awards are:
* Mississippi State University, Mississippi State, Miss., $47,464 - To create a portable computer and communication center for training veterinary students, graduate students, practicing veterinarians, and other food production stakeholders to use system dynamics modeling, other forms of stochastic and deterministic modeling and health data management or analysis software to protect livestock from pests and disease.
* Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio, $1,460,000 - Develop knowledge-based integrated approaches to detect, control, and prevent poultry respiratory diseases in the United States through new and improved diagnostic tools, vaccines, and novel preventive measures.
* University of Vermont, Burlington, Vt., $1,480,000 - Reduce the impact of new, emerging and foreign pests and diseases to domestic production of cattle, swine and small ruminant foods and byproducts.
Full text:
http://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/USDAOC/bulletins/100b8de
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4. Large Volume Intravenous (IV) Solution Shortage
FDA Ctr. for Veterinary Medicine
April 24, 2015
Due to the shortage of 3-5 liter volume units of fluids intended for intravenous (IV) administration in large animals, CVM is temporarily exercising enforcement discretion for the distribution of IV fluid products into the United States. Dechra Veterinary Products will provide products from their Ireland manufacturing facility, which will be distributed by Vedco Inc. Henry Schein Animal Health will distribute products manufactured by Baxter Healthcare Pty Ltd from Australia. SyPharma Pty Ltd who manufactures their products in Australia will have their products distributed by Animal Health International.
While these initial shipments will help, they will not resolve the shortage. CVM is working closely with manufacturers to meet the needs of the 3-5 liter volume units of fluids intended for intravenous (IV) administration in large animals across the U.S. in the coming weeks.
CVM remains committed to doing everything it can to address this shortage. While CVM cannot require a manufacturer to produce a product, CVM will continue to use all the tools at its disposal to mitigate this and other drug shortages.
[04/13/2015] The FDA's Center for Veterinary Medicine (CVM) is aware that the U.S. is currently facing a shortage of 3-5 liter volume units of fluids intended for intravenous (IV) administration in large animals. These large volume IV solutions are used to provide large animals with IV fluid replacement therapy.
CVM is currently coordinating with drug manufacturers to increase the availability of these products in order to address the current shortage and meet long-term demand. There are several foreign firms that are preparing to import 5 liter fluids into the U.S. Please continue to visit the drug shortage information webpage for updates. As products become available, we will update this page with additional information.
CVM remains committed to taking steps to address drug shortages, including finding alternative sources.
Source: http://tinyurl.com/p4d6npe
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5. As avian flu spreads, Minnesota zoos worry about birds
Tim Nelson
Minnesota Public Radio News
April 23, 2015
The spread of avian influenza has stirred alarm in Minnesota's poultry industry, but turkeys and chickens aren't the only birds people across the state are worrying about.
Minnesota's zoos also have started to take steps to protect their birds - from flamingos, toucans and puffins to all kinds of other birds - many of which live indoors.
The people who run the Minnesota Zoo in Apple Valley and those responsible for the Como Zoo and the University of Minnesota's Raptor Center in St. Paul are watching the spread of highly pathogenic avian influenza carefully - even though it's unclear what risk the flu might pose.
Como Zoo spokesman Matt Reinartz said the same migrating waterfowl suspected of spreading the disease in turkey farms also stop at the zoo in St. Paul.
Full text:
http://www.mprnews.org/story/2015/04/23/zoos-avian-flu
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6. UNL to break ground on new vet diagnostic center [NE]
Feedstuffs
April 24, 2015
The University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL) will break ground April 29 for a new Veterinary Diagnostic Center (VDC) on its East Campus in Lincoln, Neb.
VDC - Nebraska's only accredited veterinary diagnostic laboratory - improves animal health through diagnostics and disease surveillance, protecting the state's livestock industry. The center also develops cutting-edge testing methods and supports food safety and biomedical research. It works with public health officials to diagnose animal diseases that can lead to human illnesses and processes samples submitted by the Nebraska Game & Parks Commission to monitor and prevent the spread of wildlife diseases such as rabies and chronic wasting disease.
The center provides testing services to professionals and organizations across the nation and is considered a national center of excellence for testing of certain diseases in livestock.
Full text:
http://feedstuffs.com/story-unl-break-ground-new-vet-diagnostic-center-45-126825
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7. Bill aims to outlaw killing horses, exporting them, for food
By Ripon Advance Reports
The Ripon Advance
April 23, 2015
U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan (R-FL), with three of his House colleagues, introduced legislation on Wednesday that would permanently ban the killing of horses in the U.S. for human consumption.
The bill also would make it illegal to export living horses across the border to Mexico or Canada to be killed in slaughterhouses and shipped overseas for food.
In 2014, over 150,000 U.S. horses, the vast majority of which were healthy and robust, were slaughtered in Canada or Mexico and shipped to countries such as Italy and Japan, where horse meat is seen as a delicacy, studies have said.
"The slaughter of horses for human consumption is an absolute travesty that must be stopped," Buchanan said. He also said that because it can be dangerously full of unregulated drugs, horse meat is unhealthy and can even be toxic to humans. "This bipartisan measure will help put an end to this barbaric practice once and for all," Buchanan said.
Although the sale of horse meat for human consumption already is banned in the U.S., there is currently no federal law to prevent the transport of horses across U.S. borders for slaughter in Canada or Mexico.
Full text:
http://riponadvance.com/news/bill-aims-to-outlaw-killing-horses-exporting-them-for-food/11259
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