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1. USDA: Pig virus that struck US similar to China strain
Lorna Benson, Associated Press
TheHeraldExtra.com
October 1, 2015
DES MOINES, Iowa - A virus that killed more than 8 million baby pigs in 2013 and 2014 nearly matches the DNA of a virus found in China and was likely carried into the United States on reusable tote bags used in international trade, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said Wednesday.
A special investigation began last summer into the possible sources of the virus, known as porcine epidemic diarrhea. Nearly 10 percent of the nation's hog population was lost, severely reducing the supply of pork and sending bacon and pork chop prices to new records last year. The industry has worked to rebuild herds since then.
How the virus spread remains unknown, but many scenarios of how it arrived in the U.S. and spread were considered, including intentional infection, accident transmission by visitors from abroad and transmission of the virus via pet treats made in China. Investigators determined that the tote bags called Flexible Intermediate Bulk Containers "best fit the criteria established for entry into the United States, rapid and wide spread across the country, and introduction onto individual farms," according to Wednesday's report.
The woven, plastic fiber bags designed to ship between 1,000 pounds and 3,000 pounds were reused - making cross-contamination a possibility - and often not cleaned, the report said. Tests on the virus determined it could survive for several weeks within the protective weave of the bags.
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2. Conversation Begins About How to Collect On-Farm Antibiotic Use Data
By Lydia Zuraw
Food Safety News
October 1, 2015
You need data to know if interventions to foster the judicious use of medically important antimicrobial drugs are actually adopted and whether they have the desired effect in terms of both antibiotic use practices (also known as stewardship) and managing antibiotic resistance.
On Wednesday, the federal agencies at the forefront of the resistance fight - the Food and Drug Administration, the Department of Agriculture and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention - held a public meeting to discuss possible approaches for collecting additional on-farm antimicrobial drug use and resistance data.
"Tracking the use of antibiotics is critical to knowing how we're doing with stewardship," said Beth Bell, director of the CDC's National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases. "Good information about where, why and how animal antibiotics are used is the basic information needed to know when stewardship is going well."
William Flynn, deputy director for science policy at the FDA's Center for Veterinary Medicine, said that several different sources of data are needed to tackle antibiotic resistance. Such sources include sales, on-farm use, resistance trends in foodborne bacteria, animal demographics and health, and FDA inspection activities.
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3. Defenders speak with TPWD about killing CWD-exposed herd [TX]
By Pilar Arias - Reporter
KSAT.com
October 1, 2015
SAN ANTONIO - The deer breeding pens at Texas Mountain Ranch are empty.
State and federal agencies hope they stopped the spread of chronic wasting disease by killing nearly 180 white-tailed deer Wednesday morning.
CWD is a deadly, contagious neurological disease that affects deer.A spokesman from the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department said the decision to put down the herd was timely and humane.
"None of our folks involved wanted to be out there to do this," Steve Lightfoot from TPWD said. "This is something that as conservation professionals, they understand the ramifications of doing nothing."
The day before the deer were euthanized, Robert Patterson walked the Defenders around his ranch and showed where the first captive deer in the state that tested positive for CWD was found dead of a broken neck.
"They didn't do one thing wrong, except be born on this ranch," Patterson said about the herd.
Although now gone, the deer were once called the index herd.
In response to the discovery of CWD in Medina County, the final herd plan required the deer to be killed on Patterson's facility because of the possibility of exposure. Tissues from those more than two years old were sent to the Texas A&M Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory to be tested for CWD, which is commonly compared to mad cow disease.
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4. Jackson County, Oregon, Horse Tests Positive for WNV
By Edited Press Release
TheHorse.com
October 1, 2015
A horse from Eagle Point, Oregon, sampled on Sept. 25, has tested positive for West Nile virus (WNV), the Jackson County Vector Control District announced Sept. 30.
"Oregon State University Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory in Corvallis confirmed the positive," said Jim Lunders, Manager and Biologist of the Jackson County Vector Control District.
West Nile was previously been detected in Jackson County during the 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2012, 2013, and 2014 mosquito seasons.
Lunders said horses are particularly susceptible to WNV because they have no protection from mosquito bites other than what their owners provide.
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5. Hopkinton Horse Tests Positive For Triple E [NY]
WWNYtv.com
October 1, 2015
A horse in the town of Hopkinton has tested positive for the Eastern Equine Encephalitis virus, also known as Triple E.
St. Lawrence County Public Health officials say the confirmed case is the third in New York state this year.
"We know it's out there," County Board of Health President Dr. Gregory Healey tells 7 News. "It's very rare, so this isn't shocking, but people should be aware."
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6. Events Highlight the Impact of Rabies on People, Pets and Wildlife
Posted by Gail Keirn, USDA APHIS Public Affairs Specialist
USDA Blog
October 1, 2015
USDA is honored to host the 26th Rabies in the Americas conference in Fort Collin, Colorado, beginning Sunday, Oct. 4.
What do raccoons, vampire bats, and mongooses have in common? All are wildlife species that are commonly associated with rabies and can potentially expose people, pets and livestock to the deadly virus.
The significant impact of rabies on public and animal health will be the focus of the 26th Rabies in the Americas conference in Fort Collin, Colorado, on October 4-8. This is the first time this important international conference will be held in Colorado and be hosted by APHIS, according to Richard Chipman, coordinator for APHIS-Wildlife Services' (WS) National Rabies Management Program.
The annual meeting typically includes 300 attendees from more than 20 countries across five continents. It provides an opportunity for researchers, health professionals, rabies program managers, wildlife biologists, laboratory personnel, and other people interested in advancing knowledge about rabies surveillance, prevention and control, to meet, share their successes, and discuss challenges.
Dr. Kurt VerCauteren, a research wildlife biologist at WS' National Wildlife Research Center (NWRC) and member of the conference planning committee, say that, as a scientist, he looks forward to discussing new ideas, strategies and tools for controlling rabies with his international colleagues. Dr. VerCauteren notes the agenda includes talks from renowned rabies experts on diagnostic technologies, economics, human rabies prophylaxis, vaccine developments, outbreak response plans, and epidemiology, as well as domestic and wild animal research.
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