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1. Emerging Animal Diseases: Actions Needed to Better Position USDA to Address Future Risks
GAO-16-132: Published: Dec 15, 2015. Publicly Released: Jan 14, 2016.
January 14, 2016
What GAO Found
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) did not take regulatory action during the initial response to the outbreaks of Swine Enteric Coronavirus Diseases (SECD) beginning in May 2013, when an outbreak was first detected, because the agency did not believe then that such action was necessary. Instead, USDA initially supported swine industry-led efforts. Without regulatory action, such as requiring reporting of infected herds, USDA had limited information about the location of the first infected herds. In addition, USDA officials acknowledged that USDA did not follow its guidance that calls for conducting epidemiological investigations at the onset of outbreaks. As a result, USDA did not conduct timely investigations of the premises with the first infected herds, and the source of disease will likely never be determined. Further, USDA does not have a process to help ensure the guidance is followed. Without such a process, USDA lacks reasonable assurance that the guidance will be followed in the future.
In June 2014, amid concerns about the spread of SECD, USDA issued a federal order requiring reporting of newly infected herds. As a result, USDA has more accurate information about the number and location of such herds, and SECD have been confirmed in 28 U.S. states, as shown below. USDA also provided funding to help manage the diseases.
To help improve its future response to SECD and other emerging animal diseases-those not known to exist in the United States or which have changed to become a threat-USDA has drafted new guidance. However, it has not defined key aspects of its response such as roles and responsibilities, which according to its strategic plan, are key components of successful collaboration to protect animal health. Without a clearly defined response to such emerging animal diseases, response efforts could be slowed.
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2. AVMA CEO Dr. Ron DeHaven to retire
By AVMA
Bovine Veterinarian
January 14, 2016
Dr. Ron DeHaven's passion for veterinary medicine is what brought him to the American Veterinary Medical Association on Aug. 9, 2007. That passion is what will guide him through the remaining months of his tenure, as he will retire this summer.
While a specific retirement date has not been set, DeHaven will most likely remain at the AVMA's helm until shortly after the association's annual convention, which this year is being held August 5-9 in San Antonio, Texas. His departure date may be adjusted if a new chief executive is identified and begins employment sooner.
"When I came to the AVMA, I joined what is an amazing staff guided by committed, talented volunteer leadership that gives their all to our members, our association and our profession," DeHaven said. "There is much left to do, and I will be fully committed in my role at the AVMA over the next several months. The profession, our staff and the members I serve deserve nothing less."
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3. Athens high-security poultry lab getting $160 million makeover [GA]
By Lee Shearer
Athens Banner-Herald
January 14, 2016
The federal government is spending nearly $160 million to modernize its aging Southeast Poultry Disease Research Laboratory in Athens.
Congress last month voted to appropriate $113.7 million in this year's federal budget for the modernization project, which will replace many of the old buildings, according to Sandra Avant, a public affairs specialist for the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Agricultural Research Service. That's in addition to $54 million earmarked for the long-planned project in last year's budget.
Many of the buildings in the complex off College Station Road date back to the 1960s and 1970s.
The lab, which focuses on influenza and other diseases that affect the poultry industry - Georgia's top agricultural product, and one of the nation's top agricultural industries.
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4. Shenandoah National Park CWD Management Plan Approved
The Charlottesville Newsplex
By: News Staff
January 14, 2016
ALBEMARLE COUNTY, VA (NEWSPLEX) -- The National Park Service and the Shenandoah National Park have issued final approval of a Chronic Wasting Disease Management Plan.
CWD has not been detected in the park, but the park wants to have a plan in place in case it does arrive.
So far, the disease has been found within ten miles of the park.
CWD is part of a family of disease called transmissible spongiform encephalopathies.
NPS biologists believe it could spread rapidly and cause significant impacts to the deer populations, but there is no evidence of it within the park itself so far.
The management plan will allow for lethal sampling of deer for CWD detection and assessment as well as allow for the reduction of deer population densities in the park.
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5. NIAA Annual Conference focuses on biosecurity
By NIAA
Drovers CattleNetwork.com
January 14, 2016
Animal disease epidemics are a significant concern to the animal agriculture industry. The National Institute for Animal Agriculture will facilitate a discussion on this crucial topic, at their next Annual Conference, April 4-7, 2016 at the Downtown Marriott in Kansas City, Mo.
The biosecurity emphasis of the Conference, themed "From Farm to Table - Food System Biosecurity for Animal Agriculture" concentrates on identifying risks, challenges and solutions and ways producers can be proactive in protecting their animals from illness.
"As an industry, we have not had this discussion together before," says Dr. Karen Jordan, DVM, Planning Committee Co-Chair for NIAA's Annual Conference. "Today there are more new ways for diseases to be communicated throughout a species than ever before."
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6. USDA Awards More Than $1.2 Million for Aquaculture Research at Four Universities
USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture Bulletin
January 14, 2016
WASHINGTON - The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) today awarded more than $1.2 million to four universities for research to support the development of environmentally and economically sustainable aquaculture in the United States. These new projects will generate new science-based information and innovations to address constraints that hinder the growth of the US aquaculture industry. These awards were made through the Aquaculture Research Program, which is authorized by the 2014 Farm Bill and administered through USDA's National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA).
"Aquaculture research projects provide increased security and sustainability to a growing industry with domestic and international market value," said NIFA Director Dr. Sonny Ramaswamy. "The impacts of these projects will contribute to the 70 percent growth in the aquaculture industry that is expected in the next 30 years."
The Aquaculture Research Program focuses on projects that directly address major constraints to the U.S. aquaculture industry. Projects funded in fiscal year 2015 focused on program priorities that include: 1) genetics of commercial aquaculture species; 2) critical disease issues impacting aquaculture species; 3) design of environmentally and economically sustainable aquaculture production systems; and 4) economic research for increasing aquaculture profitability. Since 2014, this program has awarded nearly $2.5 million in funding.
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7. UBC study: Rats pose health threat to poultry and humans [Canada]
University of British Columbia
EurekAlert
January 14, 2016
Rats can absorb disease agents from their local environment and spread them, according to a new UBC study. The results also indicate that the threat rats pose to the health of poultry and humans has been underestimated.
Researchers studied the feces of rats caught at an Abbotsford, B.C. poultry farm, and discovered they all carried avian pathogenic E. coli, a bacteria with the ability to cause disease in chickens and potentially humans. More than one quarter of the rats were carrying multidrug resistant strains of the bacteria. The findings support lead author Chelsea Himsworth's theory that rats act as a "pathogen sponge," soaking up bacteria from their environment.
"If rats can absorb pathogenic E. coli, then they could potentially be a source of all sorts of other pathogens that we have not anticipated," said Himsworth, assistant professor in the UBC School of Population and Public Health and leader of the Vancouver Rat Project, a group aiming to address the knowledge gap about the health threats associated with rats.
Himsworth was surprised to find that the E. coli strains carried by the farm rats were very similar to those found in chickens, and totally different from E. coli strains found in urban rats. "Basically, the rural rat gut looked like the poultry gut, and nothing like the urban rat gut," she said.
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