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1. USDA Confirms Highly Pathogenic H5N8 Avian Influenza in Backyard Flock in Indiana
USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service Bulletin
May 11, 2015
WASHINGTON -- The United States Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) has confirmed the presence of highly pathogenic H5N8 avian influenza (HPAI) in a backyard mixed-poultry flock in Whitley County, Indiana. While there have been multiple detections of HPAI H5N2 in the Mississippi flyway, this is the first finding of HPAI H5N8 in the Mississippi flyway, which previously had only been confirmed in the Pacific flyway. CDC considers the risk to people from these HPAI H5 infections in wild birds, backyard flocks and commercial poultry, to be low. No human infections with the virus have been detected at this time.
Samples from the flock, which experienced increased mortality, were tested at the Indiana Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory and the APHIS National Veterinary Services Laboratories in Ames, Iowa confirmed the findings. APHIS is working closely with the Indiana State Board of Animal Health to respond to the finding. State officials quarantined the affected premises and birds on the property will be depopulated to prevent the spread of the disease.
Full text:
http://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/USDAAPHIS/bulletins/103c6f6
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2. Swift County case of bird flu brings new state total to 85 farms [MN]
By Carolyn Lange
West Central Tribune
May 11, 2015
ST PAUL - Another case of bird flu was detected today in Swift County.
There are now 85 farms in Minnesota affected by highly-pathogenic H5N2 avian influenza.
So far 5.6 million commercial turkeys and chickens have either died from the disease or been euthanized to prevent its spread.
According to the latest report this is the seventh case of bird flu in Swift County. This case involves a turkey farm, but the size of the flock was not immediately released.
Of the 21 counties where the H5N2 has been confirmed, Kandiyohi County has the most, with 32 farms affected.
Stearns County is next with 14 farms, followed by Meeker County with eight farms and Swift County with seven.
Full text:
http://www.wctrib.com/news/local/3742505-swift-county-case-bird-flu-brings-new-state-total-85-farms
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3. An outbreak unlike any other: Perspective on the 2014-2015 avian influenza
By John Newton and Todd Kuethe, University of Illinois Extension
Drovers CattleNetwork.com
May 8, 2015
Historically, there have been only three recorded outbreaks of the avian influenza in the United States: in 1924, 1983, and in 2004. The 1924 and 2004 outbreaks were quickly contained and eradicated. The 1983 outbreak was more significant and resulted in the depopulation of 17 million chickens, turkeys, and guinea fowl in northeastern portions of the U.S. The current 2014-2015 outbreak is the worst case ever experienced in the U.S. It exceeds the previous 1983 record by nearly 9 million birds (and counting).
The first confirmed case of avian influenza (bird flu) during 2014-2015 was on December 19, 2014 at a backyard operation in Douglas County, Oregon with 130 mixed poultry birds. Now, more than five months since the first confirmed case, a state of emergency has been issued in Iowa, Minnesota, and Wisconsin. As of May 5, 2015 USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) Update on Avian Influenza Findings indicated there have been 133 detections reported and more than 25.7 million birds have been affected in the U.S. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirms that no human cases have been detected, and the risk to people from these bird flu infections remains low.
The pace of bird flu confirmations has rapidly grown in recent weeks due to the infection of several large flocks, Figure 1. Among the largest and most recent cases were 1.0 million chickens in Wright County, Iowa on May 5, 2015; 1.8 million chickens in Madison County, Iowa on May 4, 2015; 5.7 million chickens in Buena Vista County, Iowa on May 1, 2015; and 3.7 million chickens in Sioux County, Iowa on April 28, 2015. Across the U.S., Iowa, Minnesota, and Wisconsin have experienced the most confirmed cases of bird flu. Among these three Upper Midwest states nearly 25 million birds have been infected, representing 97% of the total quantity of birds infected across the U.S.
Initial reports downplayed the significance of this outbreak by comparing the number of confirmed cases with annual inventory and slaughter statistics (i.e. confirmed cases represent a small fraction of the 8.7 billion birds slaughtered each year). However, this is the largest outbreak of the bird flu ever recorded in the U.S. affecting 20.3 million chickens, 5.3 million turkeys, and 78 thousand mixed poultry and pheasant animals.
In order to put this most recent outbreak into perspective today's article reviews the APHIS-confirmed cases of bird flu by species with respect to USDA Census identified county-level populations of layer chickens, and sales of broiler chickens and turkeys. Results suggest that the current bird flu outbreak is highly concentrated in hen-laying and turkey producing regions. While the egg supply is expected to quickly adjust, the bird flu may have longer lasting effects on the supply of turkeys available during Thanksgiving. Additionally, if not quickly contained the bird flu presents an infection risk to the broiler population in southern portions of the Mississippi flyway. Finally, based on current infection levels, the bird flu outbreak is not expected to significantly alter corn consumption for feed use during the 2014-15 marketing year.
Full text:
http://www.cattlenetwork.com/news/markets/outbreak-unlike-any-other-perspective-2014-2015-avian-influenza
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4. Study: Environmental exposure to hormones used in animal agriculture greater than expected
Indiana University-Bloomington News Release
May 8, 2015
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Research by an Indiana University environmental scientist and colleagues at universities in Iowa and Washington finds that potentially harmful growth-promoting hormones used in beef production are expected to persist in the environment at higher concentrations and for longer durations than previously thought.
"What we release into the environment is just the starting point for a complex series of chemical reactions that can occur, sometimes with unintended consequences," said Adam Ward, lead author of the study and assistant professor in the IU Bloomington School of Public and Environmental Affairs. "When compounds react in a way we don't anticipate -- when they convert between species, when they persist after we thought they were gone -- this challenges our regulatory system."
Numerical simulations performed in this study can help to predict the potential impact of environmental processes on contaminant fate to more effectively understand the potential for these unexpected effects.
This study illustrates potential weaknesses in the U.S. system of regulating hazardous substances, which focuses on individual compounds and often fails to account for complex and sometimes surprising chemical reactions that occur in the environment.
Full text:
http://news.indiana.edu/releases/iu/2015/05/beef-hormone-exposure.shtml
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5. Lessons From Swine Flu: Avoid Geographic Location When Naming New Infectious Diseases, WHO Says
By Stephanie Castillo
Medical Daily
May 9, 2015
The World Health Organization (WHO) is reminding scientists and public health officials to take care when naming new human infectious diseases; the wrong name can have adverse side-effects.
"In recent years, several new human infectious diseases have emerged. The use of names such as 'swine flu' and 'Middle East Respiratory Syndrome' has had unintended negative impacts by stigmatizing certain communities or economic sectors," Dr. Keiji Fukuda, WHO's assistant director general health security, said in a press release. "This may seem like a trivial issue to some, but disease names really do matter to the people who are directly affected." Fukuda added he's seen certain names provoke a backlash among particular religious or ethnic communities, which then "create unjustified barriers to travel, commerce and trade, and trigger needless slaughtering of food animals."
While the International Classification of Diseases (ICD) has final say on what a new infectious disease is called, it's that much harder to implement when those outside the ICD and scientific community are referring to it as something else. These unofficial names tend to spread online, particularly across social media networks, and ultimately cause confusion. In which case, WHO has collaborated with the ICD, the World Organization for Animal Health, and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations to come up with best practices.
Full text: http://tinyurl.com/n6p7whx
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6. USDA asks China to reconsider its ban on US poultry
WorldPoultry.net
May 11, 2015
US Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack has requested that China end a ban on imports of US poultry that was imposed after an outbreak of bird flu in chickens and turkeys, Reuters reports.
USDA asks China to reconsider its ban on US poultry
Cases of avian flu prompted China and South Korea to impose bans on US poultry imports earlier this year. Last year, the two countries accounted for about US$428.5 million in export sales of US poultry meat and products, according to USDA data.
The US would like China to limit trade only from states or regions that had confirmed cases of the flu, which is deadly to poultry, Vilsack told reporters.
China's agriculture minister indicated he would consider Vilsack's request, but linked the matter to US limits on imports of poultry raised and processed in China, Vilsack said. The US restrictions on imports of poultry from China are related to human health, while the bird flu is an issue of animal health, he added.
Full text: http://tinyurl.com/o9pjars
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7. Viruses, Serums, Toxins, and Analogous Products; Exemptions From Preparation Pursuant to an Unsuspended and Unrevoked License
Federal Register Volume 80, Number 90 (Monday, May 11, 2015)
Rules and Regulations
Pages 26819-26822
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-11311]
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
9 CFR Part 107
Docket No. APHIS-2011-0048
RIN 0579-AD66
Viruses, Serums, Toxins, and Analogous Products; Exemptions From Preparation Pursuant to an Unsuspended and Unrevoked License
AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA.
ACTION: Final rule.
SUMMARY: We are amending the Virus-Serum-Toxin Act regulations to require that veterinary biologics prepared under the veterinary practitioner exemption must be prepared at the same facility the veterinarian utilizes in conducting the day-to-day activities associated with his or her practice. This exemption applies to veterinary biologics prepared by a veterinary practitioner solely for administration to animals in the course of a State-licensed professional practice of veterinary medicine under a veterinarian-client-patient relationship. This rule is necessary to ensure that veterinary biologics are not prepared in unlicensed establishments in violation of the Virus-Serum-Toxin Act and to clarify the regulations regarding the preparation of product by a veterinary practitioner under a veterinarian-client-patient relationship.
DATES: Effective July 10, 2015.
Full text:
http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2015-05-11/html/2015-11311.htm
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