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1. APHIS Administrator Announces Upcoming Veterinary Services Leadership Transition
USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service Bulletin
January 21, 2016
Dear Stakeholders:
I wanted to make you aware of an upcoming leadership change here at APHIS. Dr. John Clifford, who has served for the past 12 years as Chief Veterinary Officer and Deputy Administrator for Veterinary Services is transitioning from this role to become the Chief Trade Advisor for Veterinary Services National Import Export Services staff beginning March 1st.
Maintaining existing and expanding new markets for trade is essential for today's livestock producers. This change will allow Dr. Clifford to focus more on global trade issues at a time when international work has become ever more crucial to our mission.
In the wake of last year's highly pathogenic avian influenza outbreak and our eradication of the virus, Dr. Clifford spent several weeks traveling overseas and meeting with numerous agricultural officials across Asia with the goal of addressing trade restrictions on behalf of the poultry industry. Those discussions helped maintain poultry trade with several Asian countries.
In his role as Deputy Administrator, Dr. Clifford has also been actively engaged with the World Organization for Animal Health or the OIE, which is the international body responsible for improving animal health worldwide. This organization helps to ensure transparency regarding countries' disease statuses and that countries adhere to the latest science when establishing trade restrictions due to animal disease. As Chief Trade Advisor, Dr. Clifford will continue to liaise with the OIE on behalf of U.S. producers.
Dr. Clifford has been with APHIS for more than 30 years in both field and headquarters positions. In this time, he has established relationships across all animal sectors and been tirelessly dedicated to safeguarding U.S. animal health. As Administrator, I am thankful we will continue to benefit from Dr. Clifford's expertise in an arena where we have much at stake, and I will announce Dr. Clifford's successor closer to his transition date in March.
Sincerely,
Kevin Shea
APHIS Administrator
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2. Avian flu outbreak generates massive response
Mike Grant, Times Herald
Washington Times Herald
January 21, 2016
DUBOIS - State officials say they have now eliminated the flocks of turkeys infected with an avian flu (H7N8), but the work is far from over. Authorities say the depopulation of 10 flocks of turkeys totaling more than 350,000 birds that tested positive for the virus was completed Wednesday. The state reports they also destroyed 155,000 chickens that did not test positive for the virus, but had "dangerous contact with one of the infected flocks."
"This is not anywhere close to over," said Denise Derrer with the Indiana Board of Animal Health. "We still are composting the dead birds over the next 30 days and we are continuing surveillance and testing of birds and that will probably continue into March. This virus is unpredictable and it has been our experience it could pop back up at any time."
The Board of Animal Health is the lead agency on the massive effort to control the bird flu outbreak. Between state, federal and local agencies more than 500 people are part of the response team. "Our agency is mostly veterinarians who deal directly with the disease," said Derrer. "We don't have a lot of expertise when it comes to organizing things like mobile offices and port-o-potties. We are working with the Indiana Department of Homeland Security on those things."
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3. Indiana bird flu outbreak raises alert level in Illinois
By Tim Landis, Business Editor
The State Journal-Register
January 21, 2016
Illinois agriculture officials are monitoring four counties in the southeast corner of the state after an outbreak of bird flu in neighboring Indiana.
There are registered poultry operations in each of the counties -- Lawrence, Wabash, Edwards and White -- closest to 10 Indiana farms where more than 400,000 turkeys and chickens have been destroyed as a result of the highly contagious disease. The Illinois Department of Agriculture also has reinforced the need for biosecurity measures with more than 3,700 producers statewide.
"It is important to note that there have been no reports in Illinois," Department of Agriculture spokeswoman Rebecca Clark said in an email Thursday, "and with strict biosecurity policies, we hope to keep it that way."
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4. Ag Department Wants Funding for Animal Disease Prevention [IA]
By Sarah Boden
Iowa Public Radio
January 20, 2016
Iowa's Agriculture Secretary says his department needs more money to prevent future outbreaks of avian influenza and other livestock diseases. A request for an additional $500,000 in funding was not in the governor's budget that was released last week, so Sec. Bill Northey reiterated his request to the House Agriculture Committee on Wednesday.
The funding would go towards training and equipment. Also, the department says it wants to hire a veterinarian and program coordinator to monitor animal diseases in the state.
"We know we need some folks that think about this more regularly," says Northey. "Both poultry, but also our beef and our pork, and our dairy, and other animals out there and the disease risk that's there."
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5. Wood thrushes identified as superspreaders of Eastern Equine Encephalitis
Litchfield County Times [CT]
January 18, 2016
Scientists with the Center for Vector Biology & Zoonotic Diseases, at the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station have discovered that the common wood thrush, Hylocichla mustelina plays a leading role in introduction and seasonal amplification of eastern equine encephalitis (EEE) virus, a deadly virus transmitted by mosquitoes. The findings published in PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases further identified the blood feeding behavior of the primary mosquito vector, Culiseta melanura as the single most important factor affecting local maintenance and build-up of the virus in freshwater woodland swamp habitats in Connecticut.
"EEE virus is a highly pathogenic mosquito-borne zoonosis that is responsible for outbreaks of severe disease in humans and equines, resulting in high mortality and neurological impairment in most survivors," said Dr. Theodore Andreadis, Center Director and one of the co-authors of the study. "In the past, human disease outbreaks in the northeastern U.S. have occurred intermittently with no apparent pattern. However, during the last decade the region has witnessed recurring annual emergence and expansion into northern New England and southern Canada where the virus had been previously unknown". According to the CDC, 55 human cases have been documented in the northeast resulting in 23 fatalities since 2003. The underlying factors responsible for this sustained resurgence have eluded scientists and public health officials.
According to Dr. Goudarz Molaei, lead author of the study, "in the northeastern U.S., EEE virus is maintained in an enzootic cycle involving a bird-biting mosquito, Cs. melanura, and wild perching birds in freshwater hardwood swamps. However, the identity of key bird species that may serve as superspreaders of the virus in these swamps leading to spill over into humans and equines, has not been established."
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6. Iowa Pork Congress set for late January
By Jim Lee, Sioux City Journal
TriStateNeighbor.com
January 21, 2016
The Iowa Pork Producers Association is hosting it's annual Iowa Pork Congress Jan. 27 and 28 at the Iowa Events Center in Des Moines.
The nation's largest winter swine tradeshow and conference will be held in Hy-Vee Hall from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Jan. 27 and 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Jan. 28.
"One has to merely look at the list of seminars and exhibitors to know this is 'the show' and why Iowa Pork Congress draws from such a wide area of the country," said David Struthers, Iowa Pork Producers Association (IPPA) president and a pig farmer from Collins, Iowa. "IPPA works hard each year to keep the show informative, educational and valuable for attendees."
IPPA is offering 11 business seminars covering a wide range of topics presented by some of the pork industry's leading experts.
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7. Deputy Secretary Krysta Harden to leave USDA at end of February
By Whitney Forman-Cook
Agri-Pulse.com
January 21, 2016
WASHINGTON - Deputy Agriculture Secretary Krysta Harden, who led the implementation of the 2014 farm bill, says she's leaving USDA at the end of February. Michael Scuse, the current under secretary for Farm and Foreign Agricultural Services, has been tapped as acting deputy.
"Today is bittersweet for me," Harden said in a release announcing her planned departure. "I am proud of what our department has accomplished since 2009 to bring economic opportunity that will help rural America thrive for generations to come. And although I will not be part of the many great and transformational things USDA will accomplish over the next year, I am more committed than ever to USDA's mission."
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