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1. USDA Confirms More Highly Pathogenic H5N2 Avian Influenza in Three Flocks in Minnesota and Iowa
USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service Bulletin
April 30, 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 three flocks in Minnesota and Iowa. 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:
Kandiyohi County, Minnesota (April 29, 2015)
- Turkeys (number pending)
- 24th detection in this county
Stearns County, Minnesota (April 29, 2015)
- 202,500 chickens
- 12th detection in this county
Buena Vista County, Iowa (April 29, 2015)
- 50,000 turkeys
- 2nd detection in this county
Full text:
http://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/USDAAPHIS/bulletins/1020b35
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2. DNR may test waterfowl blood for bird flu [MN]
Lorna Benson
Minnesota Public Radio News
April 28, 2015
Officials searching for answers to the state's avian influenza epidemic are considering adding blood testing of wild birds to their surveillance program.
Currently, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources collects wild bird droppings for flu testing. But those samples only show if a bird was infected at the time of testing. None of the more than 2,200 fecal samples tested so far have been positive for the virus.
The Minnesota Turkey Growers Association says the DNR should add blood testing because those results would reveal if migrating birds in Minnesota had ever encountered the virus.
The idea makes sense, although it would be challenging, said DNR Wildlife Resource Manager Lou Cornicelli.
He said it might be possible to collect blood samples during the agency's annual duck banding effort this summer, but added that he could not commit to the idea yet.
Full text:
http://www.mprnews.org/story/2015/04/28/avian-flu
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3. Bird flu found in hawk in western Minnesota
Associated Press
Southernminn.com
April 30, 2015
ST. PAUL, Minn. - A hawk in western Minnesota is the first wild bird in the state to test positive for the bird flu virus since the beginning of an outbreak that's killed more than 15 million birds in the Midwest this spring, state wildlife officials announced Thursday.
Officials have long said that wild birds could be spreading the flu, but warned that the positive test in the hawk doesn't prove wild birds are the direct cause of the recent infections.
"This bird tells us our surveillance is working, but it unfortunately doesn't provide many other clues about transmission of the virus," Lou Cornicelli, wildlife research manager for the Department of Natural Resources, said in a statement.
Scientists and industry officials have said the virus also may be reaching captive birds via the feet of humans and rodents, or is being carried in by trucks, equipment, crates and egg flats.
Minnesota, the nation's largest turkey-producing state, has been hit hardest by the flu, with nearly 4 million birds killed by either the virus or euthanization. Nineteen counties have infected flocks.
Full text:
http://www.southernminn.com/faribault_daily_news/article_b5adec80-4895-56ae-874f-2da3cb78b351.html
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4. Hen-housing study unveils tradeoffs for birds and workers
UC Davis News & Information
April 30, 2015
Alternative housing systems for laying hens present a variety of tradeoffs, according to new UC Davis research. The findings shed light on how hen housing affects the 75 billion eggs produced in America each year, providing data on the cost, safety, animal welfare, worker health and environmental impacts of various hen-housing systems.
"There are positive and negative impacts with each of the three housing systems we studied," said Professor Joy Mench, a poultry welfare expert and vice chair of the Department of Animal Science. "As egg producers move away from conventional cage systems, we hope this data will help consumers, regulators, producers and others weigh the tradeoffs and benefits of alternate methods."
California banned eggs from chickens that don't have enough room to turn around or flap their wings. Other states are considering similar laws. A multistakeholder consortium called Coalition for Sustainable Egg Supply funded this first-ever commercial-scale study to evaluate the sustainability of three types of hen housing: traditional wire cages; "enriched colonies," or enclosures, that offer more space, perches and nesting boxes; and a cage-free house where chickens can move relatively freely within an enclosed barn.
Full text:
http://news.ucdavis.edu/search/news_detail.lasso?id=11217
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5. 2015 Vesicular Stomatitis Virus (VSV) Situation Report [NM]
USDA/APHIS Veterinary Services
April 29, 2015
On April 29, 2015, the National Veterinary Services Laboratories (NVSL) in Ames, Iowa, confirmed a finding of vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) infection (New Jersey serotype) on a premises in Grant County, New Mexico. One horse on the premises has met the case definition of infection with compatible clinical signs and a four-fold change in positive complement fixation antibody titers. This is the 2015 VSV index case for the United States.
Additionally, a horse on a second premises located in Otero County, New Mexico has met the subsequent premises case definition of VSV infection (New Jersey serotype) with compatible clinical signs and positive complement fixation antibody titer. Therefore, there are currently a total of two (2) VSV-positive premises under quarantine in New Mexico.
Full text:
http://www.aphis.usda.gov/animal_health/downloads/animal_diseases/vsv/Sitrep_042915.pdf
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6. Branding no longer essential for bison heading to U.S.
By Barb Glen
Western Producer
April 30, 2015
Canadian bison no longer need to be branded before export to the United States for breeding or feeding.
Effective April 8, bison need a radio frequency identification tag and an accompanying dangle tag with the same number. Alternatively, they can have an RFID tag and a tattoo, although few bison producers tattoo their animals.
Loss of the branding requirement is welcome news, said Canadian Bison Association executive director Terry Kremeniuk.
"There's always concern about the animal when you put a brand on it," he said. "We know they are wild animals and any time you can handle them less, it's good for the animal, it's good for the handlers and it's good for the industry."
Full text:
http://www.producer.com/2015/04/branding-no-longer-essential-for-bison-heading-to-u-s/
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7. New tickborne disease found in China may pose 'substantial health threat' [edited]
MedicalNewsToday.com
April 28, 2015
Tickborne illnesses - such as Lyme disease, Tularemia and Rocky Mountain spotted fever - can be serious and sometimes deadly. They are a major public health problem around the world. Now, a new study reports the discovery in northern China of a tickborne illness in humans that has never been seen before.
The new discovery, reported in The Lancet Infectious Diseases, is the work of a team of researchers from China and the US. In their paper, they say it is possible that the newly-discovered disease could be a "substantial" threat to human and animal health in the region where the tick prevails.
They name the newly discovered pathogen - a bacterium - Anaplasma capra, after the fact it appears to be common in goats. "Capra" is the Latin word for "goat."
The bacterium is related to other Anaplasma bacteria, some of which can also cause illness when transmitted from ticks to humans.
However, the researchers note they are not sure how widespread A. capra and the tick that carries it might be and whether they bite other animals as well as goats.
Full text:
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/293099.php
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8. Risk-Based Sampling of Beef Manufacturing Trimmings for Escherichia coli (E. coli) O157:H7
Federal Register Volume 80, Number 82 (Wednesday, April 29, 2015)
Notices
Pages 23761-23765
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-09957]
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Food Safety and Inspection Service
Docket No. FSIS-2012-0020
Risk-Based Sampling of Beef Manufacturing Trimmings for Escherichia coli (E. coli) O157:H7
AGENCY: Food Safety and Inspection Service, USDA.
ACTION: Notice: Response to comments.
SUMMARY: The Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) is responding to comments on the September 19, 2012, Federal Register notice, ``Risk-Based Sampling of Beef Manufacturing Trimmings for Escherichia coli O157:H7 and Plans for Beef Baseline'' and providing updates on how it is scheduling sampling for beef manufacturing trimmings. Additionally, the Agency is announcing that it is changing its existing algorithms for sampling of bench trim and raw ground beef components other than trim to make them more risk-based. Finally, the Agency is making available the following report: ``Effective Implementation of Beef Manufacturing Trimmings Sampling Redesign (MT60).''
DATES: On July 28, 2015, FSIS will implement design changes in bench trim and other ground beef components besides trimmings.
Full text:
http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2015-04-29/html/2015-09957.htm
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