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1. FDA surveying veterinarians on antiparasitic drug resistance
By Greg Cima
JAVMA News
Posted September 2, 2015
A survey starting in September will help direct federal outreach on the risks to horses and ruminants of antiparasitic drug resistance.
Dr. Emily R. Smith, a veterinary medical officer in the Food and Drug Administration's Center for Veterinary Medicine, said the survey of veterinary practitioners who work with such animals and of veterinary parasitologists is intended to gauge awareness and concern about antiparasitic drug resistance, gather details on resistance that practitioners have encountered, and learn what strategies they have used to detect and manage resistance development. The survey also will gather related opinions on drug labeling and labeling statements, she said.
The survey, which will be open Sept. 29-Nov. 3, is part of a larger strategy by the FDA intended to combat a developing problem of antiparasitic drug resistance in the U.S. and worldwide.
"The end goal of the whole Antiparasitic Resistance Management Strategy is to keep the antiparasitic drugs we have as effective as possible for as long as possible," Dr. Smith said.
In a JAVMA Commentary published in the May 1, 2014, issue, CVM employees described antiparasitic drug resistance as an emerging health crisis for U.S. grazing livestock. Veterinarians and livestock producers, particularly those in the cattle industry, need to shift from goals of parasite elimination to parasite management, according to the commentary.
The FDA is working with the AVMA and other veterinary organizations that will distribute links to the online survey.
Information on the Ruminant and Equine Antiparasitic Drug Use and Antiparasitic Resistance Survey will be available at sites including www.fda.gov/animalveterinary and www.avma.org.
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2. Heads up: Seneca Valley Virus returns to the Midwest
By Angela Bowman, Associate Editor
PORK Network
September 4, 2015
More cases of Senecavirus A (Seneca Valley Virus) in breeding herds are beginning to surface across the upper Midwest.
Dr. Paul Sundberg, the executive director of the Swine Health Information Center, explained to Bruce Cochrane with Farmscape in recently audio update that while the virus itself is not considered to be a "production limiting infection," its clinical signs bear similarities to foot and mouth disease (FMD) and should be a cause for increased vigilance.
The Minnesota Pork Board reported in an update here that clinical signs in infected sows, nursery pigs and finishing pigs may include:
Vesicles and coalescing erosions on the snouts and coronary bands
Acute lameness in a group of pigs
Ulcerative lesions on or around the hoof wall
Anorexia, lethargy and/or febrile - In the early course of the disease, fevers up to 105 degrees Fahrenheit have been reported
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3. Texas House committee updated on CWD response at meeting in Hondo
By Pilar Arias
KSAT.com
September 4, 2015
State agency officials said there is a long way to go in the chronic wasting disease, or CWD, investigation. However, they are still expecting a great upcoming white-tailed deer hunting season.
People from the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD), Texas Animal Health Commission and industry leaders addressed the House Committee on Culture, Recreation and Tourism (CRT) at a special hearing in Hondo on Thursday. The CRT Committee is one of several that oversee TPWD, according to a
Members of the CRT Committee asked a lot of questions about the response to the detection of CWD in four white-tailed deer that were housed at Robert Patterson's Texas Mountain Ranch in Medina County.
Patterson sat in the crowd to listen to the discussion.
"We've just lost an extremely large amount of property value. We're going to lose a couple million dollars on deer value," Patterson said. He told KSAT that 42 of his deer have been killed so far to test for CWD and he expects another 177 to be killed in October.
"What we want to be able to do is have absolute confidence that the health and vitality of our state's deer herds, both captive and free-ranging, are as good as they can possibly be," TPWD Executive Director Carter Smith said. "We owe that to Texas land owners and hunters."
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4. Fatigued cattle syndrome: The search for solutions
By Dan Frese, DVM, Ph.D.
Beef Cattle Institute at Kansas State University
High Plains Journal
September 3, 2015
Low-stress cattle handling is an often-discussed topic by cattle producers, veterinarians and nutritionists as well as those who purchase our beef. It is generally accepted that handling cattle in a manner that promotes better health and performance is a good thing. However, much of the attention surrounding low-stress handling has been focused at handling around events such as weaning, feedyard processing and acclimation. The attention focused on these timeframes is not without merit, as many of the health problems, primarily bovine respiratory disease, occur around these times.
After we get cattle healthy and on feed at the feedyard it is easy to put them on "cruise control" and move them along through the feeding period and put them on a truck to the packer at the right time without much further thought as to how we handle these animals. However, management of cattle at the end of the feeding period can have an impact on the incidence of a recently described syndrome called fatigued cattle syndrome, or FCS.
FCS was recently described in a publication by Dan Thomson, DVM, Ph.D., in the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association. The events described in this case study occurred in August and September of 2013 and were well publicized as these events led to the announcement by Tyson Foods that it would stop slaughtering cattle fed the beta-agonist zilpaterol hydrochloride (Zilmax).
FCS is a series of clinical signs, characterized by reluctance to move, decreased flight zone, muscle tremors and a shortened, stiff gait combined with blood chemistry abnormalities, such as elevated lactic acid concentrations, low blood pH and increased creatine kinase in the blood.
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5. Vaccination for Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza and Vaccination for Foot-and-Mouth Disease Documents Posted
Ctr. for Food Security and Publis Health (CDSPH) Release
September 4, 2015
In August 2015, the Center for Food Security and Public Health (CFSPH - Iowa State University College of Veterinary Medicine) updated Appendix C: Vaccination for High Pathogenicity Avian Influenza. This Appendix is part of the USDA's Foreign Animal Disease Preparedness and Response Plan (FAD PReP) - Vaccination for Contagious Diseases. The 183-page document includes a recent review of literature related to vaccination for avian influenza. Dr. Anna Rovid Spickler researched and compiled these documents, which were reviewed by USDA. Funding was provided by the USDA APHIS National Preparedness and Incident Coordination Center (NPIC) through a cooperative agreement to Iowa State University. http://www.cfsph.iastate.edu/pdf/fad-prep-nahems-appendix-c-vaccination-for-high-pathogenic-avian-influenza
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6. Animal welfare standards for fish targeted in webinar [AR]
The Cooperative Extension Service U of A System Division of Agriculture
Newton County Times
September 5, 2015
FAYETTEVILLE - Fish farming's adherence to animal welfare standards - in both land and marine environments - is coming under increased scrutiny. An online webinar will examine the issues and areas of concern for aquaculture producers.
The free one-hour webinar - "Animal Welfare Standards and Commercial Aquaculture Operations" - will be offered at 11 a.m. CDT Sept. 9. It is available to the first 100 people to register. Registration is available through the National Agricultural Law Center at http://nationalaglawcenter.org/consortium/webinars/aquaculturewelfare. The center is a unit of the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture.
Stephanie Otts, director of the National Sea Grant Law Center, will present the webinar. She noted that animal welfare has traditionally focused on terrestrial livestock operations, but concerns are now being raised about the welfare of armed fish. Her presentation will cover existing and emerging animal welfare standards for farmed fish.
Otts teaches a course on ocean and coastal law at the University of Mississippi School of Law and has conducted extensive research on marine aquaculture.
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7. Availability of an Environmental Assessment for Field Testing a Swine Influenza Vaccine, H1N1 & H3N2, Modified Live Virus
Federal Register Volume 80, Number 172 (Friday, September 4, 2015)
Notices
Page 53486
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-21995]
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
[Docket No. APHIS-2015-0054]
Availability of an Environmental Assessment for Field Testing a Swine Influenza Vaccine, H1N1 & H3N2, Modified Live Virus
AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA.
ACTION: Notice of availability.
SUMMARY: We are advising the public that the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service has prepared an environmental assessment concerning authorization to ship for the purpose of field testing, and then to field test, an unlicensed Swine Influenza Vaccine, H1N1 & H3N2, Modified Live Virus. The environmental assessment, which is based on a risk analysis prepared to assess the risks associated with the field testing of this vaccine, examines the potential effects that field testing this veterinary vaccine could have on the quality of the human environment. Based on the risk analysis and other relevant data, we have reached a preliminary determination that field testing this veterinary vaccine will not have a significant impact on the quality of the human environment, and that an environmental impact statement need not be prepared. We intend to authorize shipment of this vaccine for field testing following the close of the comment period for this notice unless new substantial issues bearing on the effects of this action are brought to our attention. We also intend to issue a U.S. Veterinary Biological Product license for this vaccine, provided the field test data support the conclusions of the environmental assessment and the issuance of a finding of no significant impact and the product meets all other requirements for licensing.
DATES: We will consider all comments that we receive on or before October 5, 2015.
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