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1. First Nebraska cases of bird flu confirmed in flock of 1.7M
Associated Press
NewsOK.com
May 12, 2015
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) - The ongoing bird flu outbreak has spread into northeast Nebraska, and officials are planning to kill 1.7 million chickens on a farm where the disease has been confirmed.
The USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service said Tuesday that the presence of the illness on an egg farm in Dixon County is the first one in Nebraska.
But bird flu is already widespread in neighboring Iowa where more than 26 million chickens have been lost. Officials routinely destroy the entire flock when the disease is found to limit its spread.
Full text:
http://newsok.com/first-nebraska-cases-of-bird-flu-confirmed-in-flock-of-1.7m/article/feed/838599
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2. Iowa National Guard to Assist in Avian Flu Response
ABC9 News
May 11, 2015
Storm Lake, IA - The Iowa National Guard is now assisting in the fight to control the Avian Flu in Iowa.
Col. Greg Hapgood tells ABC9 News that the guard is going to let the USDA set up staging at their armory in Storm Lake.
Hapgood says the area will serve as a meeting place for those dealing with the more than 25 million chicken and turkey carcasses that need to be disposed.
The USDA is trying to determine the best way to dispose the dead birds that were euthanized after confirmation of the bird flu.
Buena Vista County, where Storm Lake is located, has a total of 12 confirmed cases of bird flu. Iowa has had 45 in total.
Hapgood says no personnel is being deployed at this time. The guard is just donating the space for staging.
Full text: http://tinyurl.com/oal34jt
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3. Deer farming changes debated [NC - edited]
By Laura Leslie
WRAL.com
May 12, 2015
Raleigh, N.C. - Wildlife and hunting groups are squaring off against the state over a proposal to expand deer farming in North Carolina.
The changes are part of Senate Bill 513, this year's omnibus Farm Bill, which deals with issues from titling farm utility vehicles to allowing oversized loads to be hauled on Sundays to the disposition of unclaimed livestock.
One section of the bill would move the oversight of "captive cervid herds" - deer and elk farms - from the Wildlife Resources Commission to the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services and would allow deer to be transferred between farms within the state. It would ban the importation into the state of cervids susceptible to chronic wasting disease, such as whitetailed deer, until a live test for CWD has been established. The state's farm animal vets would be in charge of monitoring for the disease.
Bill sponsor Sen. Brent Jackson R-Sampson, said it's a compromise between the wildlife commission and the Agriculture Department to which both sides have agreed.
Despite opposition, the measure passed the Senate Agriculture Committee on a voice vote. Its next stop is in the Senate Transportation Committee on Wednesday.
Full text:
http://www.wral.com/deer-farming-changes-debated-/14640528/
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4. Researchers Working to Develop New Strangles Vaccines
By Stacey Oke, DVM, MSc
TheHorse.com
May 12, 2015
If you live in an area where equine strangles runs rampant, then you're probably aware that vaccines against this infectious disease are less than perfect. This leaves many horses unprotected from the disease and/or at risk for developing vaccine reactions, including abscesses or purpura hemorrhagica (damaged, leaky blood vessels resulting in swelling).
There are currently two strangles vaccines available in the United States: one injectable and one intranasal. Unfortunately, despite aggressive efforts, neither can protect a horse against the disease 100% of the time. This leaves even vaccinated horses at risk, which can be problematic as strangles, caused by the bacterium Streptococcus equi subspecies equi, is one of the most frequently diagnosed equine infectious diseases worldwide.
"There is an urgent need to develop new preventative vaccines against strangles and, to date, our success in doing so has been limited," said Andrew Waller, BSc, PhD, from the Animal Health Trust, in Newmarket, U.K.
Waller and colleagues set out to develop a strangles vaccine veterinarians could administer intramuscularly without abscesses developing at the injection site (a common problem).
"The other goal was to produce a vaccine that, after administration, allows veterinarians to differentiate between vaccinated horses and those that are actually infected," Waller said. "This would facilitate movement of vaccinated horses between premises and permit identification of vaccinated horses that were later exposed to S. equi without developing clinical signs of the disease."
Full text:
http://www.thehorse.com/articles/35775/researchers-working-to-develop-new-strangles-vaccines
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5. Noted influenza researcher joins UGA Poultry Diagnostic and Research Center
By Kat Gilmore
UGA Today
May 12, 2015
Athens, Ga. - An influenza researcher whose work focuses on the interspecies transmission and pathogenesis of the virus has joined the University of Georgia College of Veterinary Medicine as its new Georgia Research Alliance Distinguished Investigator and Caswell Eidson Chair in Poultry Medicine.
Daniel R. P�rez is based at the college's Poultry Diagnostic and Research Center.
"Dr. P�rez's work on avian influenza virus interspecies transmission and control will complement a robust research effort on poultry respiratory disease viruses in the department of population health, and build on an active and successful program within the college that is focused on influenza virus surveillance, diagnosis and control. We are excited about Dr. P�rez joining our faculty," said Mark W. Jackwood, who heads both the department and the center.
P�rez's work on influenza A viruses dates back to the early 1990s when he was pursuing his Ph.D. in the department of veterinary and biomedical sciences at the University of Nebraska. He later worked as a research associate in the department of infectious diseases at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital and was involved in developing the first influenza H5N1 vaccine by reverse genetics.
Full text:
http://news.uga.edu/releases/article/influenza-researcher-uga-poultry-diagnostic-and-research-center-0515/
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6. Bochsler chosen to lead Veterinary Diagnostic Lab [WI]
Univ. of Wisconsin-Madison News
May 12, 2015
Philip Bochsler, chief of pathology at the Wisconsin Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory (WVDL), has been selected as the lab's next director. Bochsler will assume his new duties Monday, July 6.
UW-Madison Chancellor Rebecca Blank, in consultation with the WVDL Board of Directors, appointed Bochsler after a national search.
Darrell Bazzell, UW-Madison vice chancellor for finance and administration, says Bochsler has developed a strong record of leadership, service and achievement since he joined the WVDL management team in 2001.
Full text:
http://www.news.wisc.edu/23767
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7. Privacy Act Systems of Records; Veterinary Services--Records of Accredited Veterinarians
Federal Register Volume 80, Number 91 (Tuesday, May 12, 2015)
Notices
Pages 27142-27145
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-11420]
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
[Docket No. APHIS-2012-0103]
Privacy Act Systems of Records; Veterinary Services--Records of Accredited Veterinarians
AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA.
ACTION: Notice of proposed alteration to an existing Privacy Act System of Records; request for comment.
SUMMARY: The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service proposes to alter an existing system of records in its inventory of record systems subject to the provisions of the Privacy Act of 1974, as amended. The system of records is Veterinary Services--Records of Accredited Veterinarians, USDA-APHIS-2. This notice is necessary to meet the requirements of the Privacy Act to publish in the Federal Register notice of the existence and character of record systems maintained by the agency.
DATES: Effective Date: This system will be adopted without further notice on June 22, 2015 unless modified to respond to comments received from the public and published in a subsequent notice.
Comment Date: Comments must be received in writing on or before June 11, 2015.
Full text:
http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2015-05-12/html/2015-11420.htm
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