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1. UA Releases New Equine Rabies Resource [AZ]
By Faith Schwartz, UA College of Agriculture and Life Sciences
UA News
May 18, 2016
For the first time in seven years in Arizona, a horse tested positive for rabies, elevating the need to engage efforts to inform horse owners about disease prevention.
The Arizona Department of Agriculture reported the case in April, and the domestic horse from Nogales, located in Santa Cruz County, had to be euthanized. Reports indicated that the horse had not been vaccinated.
Well before the case became known, University of Arizona Cooperative Extension experts Betsy Greene and Ashley Wright had been working on a new resource for the prevention of rabies in livestock. "Rabies in Arizona: Equine Risk and Prevention"* was released in May and is the first article in the Horse Health Series.
[* See: http://tinyurl.com/zs2plra ]
The four-page document details the significance of rabies cases and how the disease is transmitted. The document also explains the early and advanced signs of rabies, such as decreased appetite, unexplained lameness, facial paralysis, excessive salivation, hypersensitivity to touch and self-mutilation.
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2. Researchers confirm bird flu can be transmitted from skunks and rabbits to birds
By Jayson MacLean
CanTech Letter
May 17, 2016
The United States Department of Agriculture reports that the bird flu virus can be transmitted from rabbits and skunks to birds. The study conducted by National Wildlife Research Center biologist Jeff Root is the first to confirm bird flu transmission from mammals to birds.
"When wildlife and poultry interact and both can carry and spread a potentially damaging agricultural pathogen, it's cause for concern," Root says.
Bird or avian flu has caused serious devastation to agricultural production around the globe, including in Canada where the Canadian Food Inspection Agency quarantined two parts of Ontario last year in an attempt to combat the spread of the H5N2 virus strain of the disease and Canada Border Services denied the import of poultry products from a handful of states in the U.S.
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3. Kivela CWD bill passes House [MI]
By Nicole Walton
WNMU-FM.org
May 18, 2016
LANSING, MI-- The state House has approved a bill that increases the penalties for illegally bringing a deer carcass into Michigan from another state that has chronic wasting disease.
Sponsored by Democratic Representative John Kivela, the bill aims to prevent CWD from entering the Upper Peninsula. The region hasn't seen any infections, but Wisconsin communities close to the border with the U.P. have reported CWD cases.
The legislation increases penalties up to a fine of between $500 and $2,000 and 90 days in jail.
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4. Taiwan reopens for U.S. lamb
Ohio's Country Journal and Ohio Ag Net
May 18, 2016
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For the first time since 2003, U.S. lamb and lamb products have regained access to Taiwan. Dennis Stiffler, chief executive officer of Mountain States Rosen, a producer-owned and operated processor and distributor of lamb and veal products, thanked U.S. agricultural and trade officials for their efforts to restore market access for U.S. lamb and said the announcement provides a much-needed lift for U.S. lamb exports.
"This is the culmination of many months of work by U.S. government officials, as well as the U.S. meat industry, and we are very excited to resume exporting lamb to Taiwan," said Stiffler, who also serves as vice chair of the U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF). "Taiwanese consumers enjoy high-quality, grain-fed meat, as evidenced by the success U.S. beef and pork have achieved in the market. The U.S. lamb industry is anxious to capitalize on significant opportunities in Taiwan's restaurant and retail sectors."
U.S. lamb lost access to several key markets, including Taiwan, following the first U.S. case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) in December 2003. The market closures were due to concerns related to scrapie, a disease similar to BSE. Asian markets that remain closed to U.S. lamb include Japan and South Korea.
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5. Scientists wrestle with possibility of second Zika-spreading mosquito
It's not yet clear whether Asian tiger mosquitoes will be important virus carriers and worsen outbreak
By Susan Milius
Science News
May 16, 2016
Sure, mosquitoes spread Zika virus. Scientists have already identified the yellow fever mosquito (Aedes aegypti) as a major spreader in the Americas of Zika and its risk of birth defects and possible paralysis. But Ae. aegypti may not be the only culprit. Recent evidence raises concerns that a relative, the Asian tiger mosquito (Ae. albopictus), might also play a role.
A Mexican lab, for instance, recently detected Zika virus for the first time in an Ae. albopictus collected in the Americas, the World Health Organization and Pan American Health Organization announced in April. Just finding the virus in a mosquito doesn't prove the species will spread the disease in a major way in the Americas, says Phil Lounibos of the University of Florida's medical entomology lab in Vero Beach. But if Asian tiger mosquitoes do turn out to be important in driving the Zika outbreak northward in the Americas, researchers predict more people and more places could face disease risk.
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USAHA News Alert Summaries is a service provided to its members as a timely, up-to-date source of news affecting animal health and related subjects, intended for personal use by USAHA members. Information in these articles does not necessarily represent the views or positions of USAHA.
Sources of articles are state, national and international media outlets, press releases, and direct from organizations or agencies. Each article includes direct citation and link. Comments, questions or concerns about the information included in each article should be directed to the source in addition to USAHA. While USAHA strives for accuracy in the information it shares, the News Alert Summaries should be treated as a tool that provides a snapshot of information being reported regarding animal health and related subjects.
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