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1. From the Fence Post: Understanding antibiotic resistance, impact on treating BRD
By Brian Lubbers, Kansas State University
Drovers CattleNetwork.com
June 16, 2015
From Merck Animal Health's BRD Report: From the Fence Post. With this post, we begin a series that focuses on understanding antibiotic resistance, defining what antibiotic stewardship means and how cattle producers can be better stewards of antibiotic use. Brian Lubbers, D.V.M., Ph.D., Diplomate ACVCP, director of the Microbial Surveillance Lab, a unit of the Kansas State Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory, is a contributor for this series.
Antibiotic resistance is a natural phenomenon. Resistance itself is a property, a characteristic of bacteria. Knowing that, some might say there's nothing that we as producers or veterinarians can do to stop resistance - it's going to happen anyway. But that's not the case, and we need to talk about what role we can play in helping alleviate the pressure antibiotics put on increasing resistance.
Why is antibiotic resistance important? Using antibiotics has the potential to enhance a resistant population within an animal. It's the same for humans - every time someone takes an antibiotic, they are potentially enhancing resistance in that population of bacteria as well. A lot of focus is on the relationship between antibiotic use in animal agriculture and potential human resistance, but another area that doesn't get as much attention is the impact of multi-drug resistance in livestock.
Full text: http://tinyurl.com/q59hkqn
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2. USDA Confirms More Highly Pathogenic H5N2 Avian Influenza in One Flock in Iowa
USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service Bulletin
June 17, 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 one additional flock in Iowa. No human infections with the virus have been detected at this time. CDC considers the risk to the general public 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:
Wright County, Iowa (June 17, 2015)
1,000,000 layer chickens
6th detection in this county
Full text:
http://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/USDAAPHIS/bulletins/10a4e1f
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3. Poultry linked to avian flu surfaces in Georgia
By Jill Nolin CNHI state reporter
The Times-Enterprise
June 17, 2015
ATLANTA - The state's poultry industry just had its first brush with a deadly virus that has wiped out entire flocks in the Midwest.
Three shipments of live poultry, ordered online from an infected producer in Iowa, were sent to small farms in Georgia, including two near Fitzgerald and one in Meriwether County, said the state's veterinarian, Dr. Robert Cobb Jr.
The poultry - as well as existing flocks at the farms - were euthanized Tuesday.
Still, there is no evidence that avian influenza has spread to Georgia, said Cobb.
"Everything that potentially could have been associated with these birds is being destroyed, so that virus will not have a chance to be here any longer, if it was here to start with," he said.
The Iowa producer sent shipments to 37 states before learning that its poultry was infected, Cobb said. Hatching eggs and chicks from the shipments weren't tested in Georgia and other states, but poultry sent to Arizona did test positive for the virus.
Full text: http://tinyurl.com/pjmxq5t
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4. None of two dozen deer killed in Meridian Twp. have CWD [MI]
Dawn Parker
Lansing State Journal
June 17, 2015
MERIDIAN TWP. - About two dozen deer were collected in the first week of a targeted deer kill in Meridian Township but none showed any signs of chronic wasting disease, a Michigan Department of Natural Resources representative told the town ship board Tuesday.
Chad Stewart, an MDNR deer management biologist, said the count is up-to-date as of June 11. The U.S. Department of Agriculture had submitted that many for testing.
"There's a long road ahead as far as testing goes," he said.
The initial DNR permit allows for the killing of up to 100 deer.
Another 60 deer killed by vehicles in the nine-township area where authorities are looking for evidence that CWD has spread have been picked up by authorities, but none were diseased.
Full text:
http://www.lansingstatejournal.com/story/news/local/2015/06/16/sick-deer-found-yet-meridian/28842823/
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5. Poultry testing labs awarded funding [MN]
By Benjamin Farniok
MinnesotaDaily.com
June 17, 2015
In the midst of the avian flu outbreak, new testing methods could help researchers detect the disease more accurately in rural Minnesota birds.
Last week, the state Legislature allocated more than $8.5 million to a University of Minnesota veterinary lab in Willmar, Minn. The funding will go toward expanding the facility and changing the type of testing used to detect diseases in poultry.
Tests at the Minnesota Poultry Testing Laboratory, run jointly by the Minnesota Board of Animal Health and the University, look for disease symptoms in the birds, said Dale Lauer, the lab's director. The funding, he said, will help add testing equipment that can actually detect the flu, which is now only available at labs on the University's St. Paul campus.
The facility will also expand to better accommodate the number of cases coming in, Lauer said. So far, the laboratory has had trouble keeping up with the disease, which has resulted in the death of more than 9 million birds.
Full text:
http://www.mndaily.com/news/politics/2015/06/17/poultry-testing-labs-awarded-funding
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6. USDA turkey report hints at fewer birds for Thanksgiving meals
Reuters
June 17, 2015
The U.S. Department of Agriculture's monthly turkey hatchery report on Tuesday showed a significant decline in the number of poults, or young turkeys, placed on feed in May, suggesting supplies of fresh whole birds may tighten this Thanksgiving.
But analysts are at odds about how much the shortfall will impact shoppers planning Thanksgiving Day meals as many of the birds available in stores are slaughtered and frozen long before the November holiday.
The worst-ever U.S. outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza, or bird flu, has raised concerns about higher turkey prices this holiday season. The outbreak has claimed about 7.8 million turkeys in seven states this year, many of them culled to control the virus' spread.
The losses represent a sliver of total U.S. production that was pegged at 237.5 million turkeys in 2014, according to USDA data.
Tuesday's monthly report showed poult placements dropped to 21.6 million in May, down 1 percent from the prior month and 7 percent from a year earlier.
Full text:
http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/06/17/health-birdflu-poultry-idUSL1N0Z22LI20150617
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7. APHIS Administrator Shares Information on Development of International Trade Data System
USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service Bulletin
June 17, 2015
Dear Stakeholders:
Among the many facets of APHIS' mission is our vital role facilitating the safe flow of agricultural trade. We ensure imported agricultural products meet requirements that protect against the introduction of harmful pests and diseases, and certify that millions of U.S. agricultural exports destined for markets abroad meet foreign entry requirements. APHIS is not alone in our trade responsibilities; a total of 48 Federal Agencies have import/export oversight. Together, we are working to launch a new electronic system, known as the International Trade Data System (ITDS) to streamline the import/export process.
The goal is to create a single, electronic window to submit trade documents to the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) Customs and Border Protection (CBP). Currently, this process is largely paper based, and the new ITDS single window is expected to save stakeholders and the government time and money.
DHS is taking the lead role in building ITDS, and they have set a firm launch date of November 1, 2015. In addition to reducing paper, APHIS and other Agencies will have earlier access to shipment data. This should expedite import/export processes at the border while also improving the security, health and safety of the cargo. In the event CBP places an agricultural hold on an arriving shipment, APHIS will also be able to access ITDS to find out why the shipment is being held and whenever possible assist the importer with bringing the shipment into compliance. Currently, this critical information is only available on a hard-copy document maintained by CBP.
While ITDS offers many benefits, this is a huge undertaking for APHIS. For the November launch, we are focusing on import documentation. Given the diversity of our Agency, we have a total of 33 licenses, permits, certificates and other entry documents-more than any other participating Federal Agency-that must be compatible with the new system. When ITDS goes live, importers will continue to come to APHIS to apply for and obtain official documents as they always have. But instead of providing them to CBP in hard copy, most import documents will be uploaded into ITDS, and customs brokers will communicate with CBP through the new system.
Full text:
http://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/USDAAPHIS/bulletins/10a4855
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