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USAHA News Alert Summaries - May 31, 2016 - In this issue:
1. Meat of the Matter: Attack of the superbugs
2. Pennsylvania Ag Secretary Lauds Poultry Industry for May Egg Month
3. Health officials: Ground squirrels in southwest Idaho likely have the plague
4. Horse Receives Honorary Veterinary Degree from UC Davis
5. Kansas State University College of Veterinary Medicine, Kansas beef industry provide assessment service for Kansas feedlots
6. Ag lawmakers call for organic livestock rule comment extension
7. New official disease status and disease control programmes recognised by the OIE
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1. Meat of the Matter: Attack of the superbugs
By Dan Murphy
Drovers CattleNetwork.com
May 27, 2016
 
 
Researchers have identified a woman in Pennsylvania who is carrying an E. coli bacteria that is resistant to resistant to the powerful antibiotic colistin, which public health authorities called "an alarming development."
 
The antibiotic-resistant strain was found last month in the urine of a 49-year-old woman by Defense Department researchers, according to a just-published study in the clinical journal Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy. As reported by several media sources, the authors wrote that the discovery "heralds the emergence of a truly pan-drug resistant bacteria."
 
Colistin is the antibiotic of last resort for such superbugs, which the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimated can kill up as many as one-half of patients who become infected.
 
According to The Washington Post, public health officials are interviewing the patient and her family to try to figure out how she contracted the bacteria, reviewing her hospitalizations and other healthcare exposures.
 
Activists are already gearing up to demand a total ban on antibiotic use in animal agriculture, and truth be told, it's likely that stricter guidelines on such usage will be actively proposed - not to mention that continued growth of "antibiotic-free" meat and poultry products will push industry in the same direction.
 
 
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2. Pennsylvania Ag Secretary Lauds Poultry Industry for May Egg Month
Source: Pennsylvania Dept. of Agriculture
LancasterFarming.com
May 27, 2016
 
 
HARRISBURG, Pa. - Agriculture Secretary Russell Redding thanked poultry producers for making Pennsylvania the nation's third-largest egg producer on May 18 during a meeting of the Pennsylvania Animal Health and Diagnostic Commission Poultry Health Committee.
 
"Pennsylvania's poultry industry has seen many challenges such as the threat of highly pathogenic avian influenza," Redding said. "But this industry has seen great success as well, and that success has helped agriculture remain the cornerstone of the commonwealth's economy."
 
In honor of Pennsylvania's layer industry and its contributions, Gov. Tom Wolf declared May 2016 Egg Month throughout the commonwealth, encouraging citizens to take advantage of the state's plentiful supply of eggs while recognizing the industry's contributions to the economy.
 
Pennsylvania's 23.9 million laying hens produce more than 7 billion eggs each year, providing consumers with an affordable protein source that contributes to healthy lifestyles.
 
 
 
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3. Health officials: Ground squirrels in southwest Idaho likely have the plague
By Steve Bertel
KIVItv.com
May 27, 2016
 
 
BOISE - For the second year in a row, Idaho health officials say preliminary tests on dead ground squirrels south of Boise have come back positive for plague.
 
The Idaho Department of Health and Welfare is still confirming the diagnosis, but officials are asking the public to be cautious.
 
A map of the infected area is a circle shape extending about 45 miles south from Boise to the Snake River. The boundary also extends over Interstate 84 but doesn't reach Mountain Home.
 
The bacterial disease can be spread by flea bites or by direct contact with infected animals. The last human cases to have the plague occurred in 1991 and 1992, where both patients fully recovered.
 
 
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4. Horse Receives Honorary Veterinary Degree from UC Davis
UC Davis Press Release
May 26, 2016
 
 
At the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine this past Saturday, 137 students received their Doctorate of Veterinary Medicine degrees. In a barn a few hours away, a 19-year-old Thoroughbred horse unknowingly became a doctor also. "Dr. Teddy" received an honorary degree from UC Davis for being a "Master Equine Educator" for the students, having helped them learn equine health at more than two dozen appointments and a lengthy stay at the school's teaching hospital over the past year.
 
During his time at UC Davis, Teddy was seen for routine treatments such as vaccinations and deworming, but also more complicated issues such as stem cell treatments and a neurological disorder. Over the year, many veterinary students had the opportunity to learn from him.
 
"Teddy was the first patient I ever had on my clinical rotations," said Class of 2016 DVM graduate Carin Stevens. "Signing up for your first patient is quite a nerve racking experience as you try to figure out how to go through the motions of being a fourth-year student and integrating all of the medicine you have learned up to that point. Teddy was the perfect patient."
 
 
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5. Kansas State University College of Veterinary Medicine, Kansas beef industry provide assessment service for Kansas feedlots
By Joe Montgomery, K-State News and Communications Services
High Plains Journal
May 30, 2016
 
 
The Kansas State University College of Veterinary Medicine's beef production medicine group is collaborating with the Kansas Livestock Association, the Kansas Beef Council and National Cattlemen's Beef Association to offer a Beef Quality Assurance feedlot assessment service for feedlots in the state of Kansas at no cost.
 
Beef Quality Assurance is a national program that raises consumer confidence through offering proper management techniques and a commitment to quality within every segment of the beef industry.
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The college will provide six veterinary students to conduct these feedlot assessments for bovine veterinarians who work with feedlots in the state.
 
"The college conducted a project similar to this in 2012," said Dan Thomson, Jones professor of production medicine and epidemiology at the college. "It is time to keep our feedlots current."
 
 
 
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6. Ag lawmakers call for organic livestock rule comment extension
By Jacqui Fatka
Feedstuffs
May 27, 2016
 
 
Senate and House agriculture committee leadership called on the U.S. Department of Agriculture to grant a 90-day extension of the public comment period for the agency's proposed rule regarding revised organic livestock and poultry production standards.
 
Senate Agriculture Committee chair Pat Roberts (R., Kan.) and ranking member Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D., Mich.), along with House Agriculture Committee chair Michael Conaway (R., Texas) and ranking member Rep. Collin Peterson (D., Minn.), expressed multiple concerns with the proposed rule, urging USDA to address those concerns prior to publishing a final or interim final rule.
 
"Additional time is necessary for stakeholders to evaluate the changes made in the proposed rule and provide comprehensive feedback on the potential impacts if the rule is implemented," the letter said, asking for an extension from 60 days to 150 days.
 
 
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7. New official disease status and disease control programmes recognised by the OIE
OIE Press Release
May 26, 2016
 
 
For the 20th consecutive year, countries have been able to gain recognition of their status in regard to priority diseases listed by the OIE. Since the first recognition of disease status in 1996, concerning foot and mouth disease, this process has been extended and now applies to six diseases. Recognised by the World Trade Organization (WTO), this voluntary procedure plays a prominent role in the international trade of animals and their products. Countries may also request official OIE endorsement of their national control programmes in regard to three diseases.
 
Countries can request official OIE recognition of their disease status in regard to the following six priority diseases:
 
   bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE);
   foot and mouth disease (FMD);
   contagious bovine pleuropneumonia (CBPP);
   African horse sickness (AHS);
   peste des petits ruminants (PPR);
   classical swine fever (CSF).
 
Official endorsement of national control programmes applies to the following diseases:
 
   FMD;
   CBPP;
   PPR.
 
During the presentation of certificates to countries that were granted new official disease status in May 2016, Dr Gideon Br�ckner, President of the OIE Scientific Commission, celebrated the 20th anniversary of the first disease status recognised by the OIE World Assembly of Delegates in regard to foot and mouth disease, which took place in 1996.
 
Paris, 26 May 2016 - New countries and new zones obtained official recognition of their disease status during the present World Assembly:
 
   seven countries were recognised as being "free from CSF" in Europe, Asia and the Pacific, as well as a zone in Brazil;
   Latvia has been recognised as being "free from PPR";
   Kazakhstan and the Philippines were recognised as being "free from AHS";
   six countries in Europe, Africa and the Americas were recognised as having a "negligible risk in regard to BSE"; Namibia has become the first country in Africa to be awarded official disease status in regard to this disease;
   three countries were granted "free from CBPP" status in the Americas, Africa, and Asia and the Pacific, as well as a zone in Namibia;
   One new zone was officially recognised as being "free from FMD without vaccination".
 
In addition, the World Assembly of Delegates endorsed the national control programmes for FMD submitted by Thailand, Mongolia and Kazakhstan.
 
In all, 25 national requests for official recognition of disease status or of a disease control programme were adopted by the World Assembly of Delegates.
 
 
 
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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.