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1. Third Michigan deer tests positive for Chronic Wasting Disease, DNR seeking help from hunters this fall
Emily Lawler
MLive.com
August 6, 2015
MERIDIAN TWP, MI -- A 5-year-old doe has tested positive for Chronic Wasting Disease, the third case of the disease in the state.
CWD, not present in Michigan before this year, is a fatal neurological disease that affects white-tailed deer, mule deer, elk and moose. It's spread by prions in the body fluid of infected animals. There is no evidence that the disease can spread to humans, but as a precaution the Centers for Disease Control recommends infected animals not be consumed.
DNR wildlife veterinarian Dr. Steve Schmitt said in a press release all the deer that tested positive were found in the same small area. All deer were discovered within a mile of one another, and genetic testing indicates all were related.
The DNR is urging hunters in the area to hunt again this fall, and potentially help the DNR learn more about the scope of the disease.
Full text: http://www.mlive.com/lansing-news/index.ssf/2015/08/third_michigan_deer_tests_posi.html
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2. Two more diseased deer found in Medina County [TX]
By Zeke MacCormack
San Antonio Express-News
August 6, 2015
Two more deer tested positive for chronic wasting disease from the Medina County ranch where a buck was earlier found with the neurological malady, a Texas Parks and Wildlife Department spokesman said Thursday.
Additional screening will be done at a federal facility in Iowa to confirm the preliminary lab results and preclude the possibility of false positives, Steve Lightfoot of TPWD said.
"It's just another step in the investigative process," Lightfoot said before a state CWD task force met Thursday to discuss and develop a response strategy to the outbreak.
Robert Patterson, owner of the Texas Mountain Ranch where three pen-raised white tails have been identified as CWD carriers, did not respond to calls seeking comment.
Full text: http://tinyurl.com/pcoso6q
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3. Colorado VS: 53 Locations in Eight Counties Quarantined [edited]
By Edited Press Release
TheHorse.com
August 6, 2015 Topics:
As of Aug. 5, the Colorado Department of Agriculture's (CDA) State Veterinarian's Office has 53 locations in eight counties under quarantine after horses, mules, and cattle herds tested positive for vesicular stomatitis (VS).
County Number of CurrentlyQuarantined Premises Number of Quarantines Released
Archuleta 5 2
Chaffee 1 0
Delta 10 5
La Plata 5 2
Larimer 11 2
Mesa 3 -
Montezuma 4 -
Montrose 14 3
A 2014 outbreak of VS created 556 livestock investigations in Colorado resulting in 370 quarantines with the final quarantines released in January 2015.
As VS reappears in Colorado, concerned horse owners want to know what they can do to protect their horses. The state veterinarian's office receives many calls requesting the location of horses and premises affected by VS, however, Colorado has a state statute called the "Confidentiality of Livestock Information" which protects livestock producers' operational information and animal disease information-this statute includes horse and location information (C.R.S. 35-57.9-103), the CDA said.
Full text:
http://www.thehorse.com/articles/36230/colorado-vs-53-locations-in-eight-counties-quarantined
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4. North Dakota has additional livestock importation requirements because of vesicular stomatitis
By Staff report
AgWeek.com
August 6, 2015
BISMARCK, N.D. - The North Dakota State Board of Animal Health is reminding the public that livestock entering North Dakota from any state under quarantine for vesicular stomatitis are required to be accompanied by an Interstate Certificate of Veterinary Inspection, importation permit number and vesicular stomatitis statement.
"This season, outbreaks of vesicular stomatitis have been confirmed in animals in Colorado, New Mexico, South Dakota, Utah and Wyoming," said State Veterinarian Dr. Susan Keller. "Livestock entering North Dakota from these states must meet more stringent importation requirements."
North Dakota livestock owners who take horses or other livestock to a state affected with vesicular stomatitis for exhibition, competition or trail riding and then return must also meet these requirements.
Full text: http://tinyurl.com/nuzcwvv
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5. Confused About VFDs? Specialists Bring Clarity to New Antimicrobial Rules
Zoetis
ThePoultrySite.com
August 6, 2015
US - More than 1,000 representatives from the US poultry and livestock industries attended a recent webinar to get a better handle on the FDA's new rules for the Veterinary Feed Directive (VFD).
The panel acknowledged that changes in rules and regulations could sometimes lead to misunderstandings, confusion or even fear, Poultry Health Today reported.
It therefore sought to bring clarity to the situation and help key players in the VFD process - veterinarians, producers and feed mill managers - prepare for the new regulations, which kick in December 2016.
Judicious use
With the aim of promoting the judicious use of medically important antimicrobials in animal agriculture, FDA issued its final rule on the VFD on June 2, 2015.
Basically, it will require licensed veterinarians to be involved with on-farm usage of any in-feed antimicrobials that FDA deems medically important to humans. (For the latest list, click here.)
The new regulations will also require there to be a valid veterinarian-client-patient relationship (VCPR) before medically important antimicrobials can be added to poultry or livestock feed.
Where the state has a veterinary practice act that defines VCPR, that state regulation will govern a veterinarian's responsibility in that state.
In effect, a VFD is comparable to a veterinary prescription for producers to obtain and use medically important antimicrobials for their animals, explained John Hallberg, DVM, PhD, director of US regulatory affairs for Zoetis Inc., which sponsored the event hosted by Vance Publishing.
The VFD also aims to phase out use of tetracyclines and other medically important antibiotics for growth promotion or feed efficiency.
Full text: http://tinyurl.com/o6xh6hb
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6. Scientists discover first step toward curing mad cow disease
Deutsche Welle
August 6, 2015
A cure for mad cow disease may be around the corner (and down the street a few kilometers and around a few more corners). In a new study published on Wednesday in the American journal "Science Translational Medicine," researchers say they've developed a compound, called polythiophene, that successfully fights misfolded prion clustering in mice.
"The goal of the study was to bring about proof of the principle that you could use rational design to invent anti-prion compounds, and that goal was achieved," the study's lead author Professor Adriano Aguzzi of the University of Zurich told Deutsche Welle.
However, Aguzzi cautioned, this study did not aim to actually develop a drug that could eventually fight neurodegenerative diseases. "That's what industry is for," Aguzzi said. But of course, the goal is eventually to develop a therapy for humans.
Full text:
http://www.dw.com/en/scientists-discover-first-step-toward-curing-mad-cow-disease/a-18632758
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7. California health officials investigating human plague case in Yosemite [edited]
By Andrew Murphy
News10.com
August 6, 2015
SACRAMENTO (KRON) -- A California health official Thursday said an investigation is underway in a possible case of human plague.
California Department of Public Health department began investigating after a child from Los Angeles County became ill and was hospitalized following a visit to the Stanislaus National Forest and a camping trip at Crane Flat Campground in Yosemite National Park in mid-July, according to Dr. Karen Smith, CDPH Director and State Health Officer.
No other members of the camping party reported symptoms and health officials are continuing to monitor the child's family and treatment providers. The child is recovering.
The CDPH is also conducting an environmental evaluation in the Stanislaus National Forest, Yosemite National Park and the surrounding areas.
Plague is an infectious bacterial disease that is carried by squirrels, chipmunks and other wild rodents and their fleas. When an infected rodent becomes sick and dies, its fleas can carry the infection to other warm-blooded animals or humans.
"Human cases of plague are rare, with the last reported human infection in California occurring in 2006," Dr. Smith said. "Although this is a rare disease, people should protect themselves from infection by avoiding any contact with wild rodents. Never feed squirrels, chipmunks, or other rodents in picnic or campground areas, and never touch sick or dead rodents. Protect your pets from fleas and keep them away from wild animals," Dr. Smith added.
Thursday's announcement comes after reports that a person from southern Colorado died of the plague, the second person to die of the disease in the state this year.
Full text:
http://news10.com/2015/08/06/california-health-officials-investigating-human-plague-case-in-yosemite/
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