|
* * * * * * * * * *
1. Ranches Asked to Vaccinate Against Anthrax [ND]
TJ Nelson, 6 & 9 PM News Anchor / Producer / Reporter
KVRR.com
June 12, 2016
BISMARCK, N.D. - North Dakota's state veterinarian is asking ranchers to vaccinate their animals against anthrax.
Dr. Susan Keller says conditions are right for the disease with the recent rainfall across the state.
Anthrax has been more frequently reported in the northeast, southeast and south central parts of the state, but it has been found in almost every part of North Dakota.
Vaccines are effective, but it takes about a week for immunity to be established. The vaccinations must be administered annually to maintain protection.
A few anthrax cases are reported in North Dakota almost every year.
Source:
********
|
|
2. Equine Herpes Virus (EHV-1) Update [TX]
Texas Animal Health Commission News Release
June 13, 2016
Texas Animal Health Commission (TAHC) confirmed Equine Herpes Myeloencephalopathy (EHM) in a mare at a breeding farm in Cooke County, Texas on May 24. The affected farm was placed under quarantine and restricted from moving animals and semen.
Since the original confirmed EHM positive horse, six additional horses on the premises have tested positive for the neuropathogenic strain of EHV-1. One of the test positive horses exhibited neurologic signs consistent with EHM, bringing the total number of EHM cases at this facility to two.
TAHC staff works closely with the facility management and veterinarian to implement testing protocols and biosecurity measures. All affected horses (seven) on the premises were removed to an isolation area after being diagnosed. All remaining equine in the barn were monitored for elevated temperatures twice daily. Movement restrictions on these horses were lifted once they tested negative on nasal swabs taken 14 days after the affected horses were removed.
The seven affected horses are recovering and doing well at this time. They will remain under quarantine until all test negative on nasal swabs.
The equine industry is encouraged to obtain the latest information on this outbreak and other disease events across the country by visiting the Equine Disease Communication Center at: http://www.equinediseasecc.org/outbreaks.aspx
Source:
********
|
|
3. AgriLife Research scientist's paper outlines a new mechanism of sugar feeding aversion
Writer: Steve Byrns
AgriLife Today
June 13, 2016
COLLEGE STATION - Major rainfall across most of Texas triggering hordes of mosquitos coupled with seemingly constant mosquito-related Zika virus media reports from around the globe may have set the stage perfectly for what one researcher deems as a very significant discovery in man's war against earth's leading human disease carrier.
Dr. David Ragsdale, head of the entomology department at Texas A&M University, College Station, credits Dr. Patricia Pietrantonio, a Texas A&M AgriLife Research Fellow in the entomology department at College Station, along with her students and colleagues from other institutions, with discovering a receptor on the legs of mosquitoes that when activated, keeps female mosquitoes from taking a sugar meal and makes them fly away.
"This finding could lead to novel mosquito repellents," Ragsdale said. "This is really a big deal, a major achievement."
Ragsdale said Pietrantonio has just had the article, "Leucokinin mimetic elicits aversive behavior in mosquito Aedes aegypti (L.) and inhibits the sugar taste neuron," on the work published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. To view the work and its authors go to http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2016/06/01/1520404113.abstract.
Full text:
********
|
|
4. Second cat likely died of plague in Elmore County, infection spreads [ID]
By KBOI News Staff
KBOI2.com
June 10, 2016
ELMORE COUNTY, Idaho (KOI) - A second cat is suspected of dying from the plague, and officials say the infection is likely spreading within the county.
The Central District Health Department says preliminary laboratory tests show a second cat died from the bacterial infection. Since the cats were owned by separate families, therefore it's probable that the illness is being transmitted by ground squirrels (not tree squirrels).
The cat lived inside and outside, in a home two miles from Mountain Home. This area wasn't confirmed for the plague, so officials have acknowledged the infected area has expanded.
"We want to emphasize that plague is likely present at some level in ground squirrel populations throughout the sagebrush habitat in southern Idaho. With the known confirmed cases in these areas we want people to be aware and be able to take appropriate steps to protect themselves and their pets from plague," said Mark Drew, a state wildlife veterinarian.
Full text:
********
|
|
5. Electronic sensor that tells dead bacteria from live by measuring 'osmoregulation' is potential future tool for medicine and food safety
Purdue Univ. News
June 13, 2016
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - A new type of electronic sensor that might be used to quickly detect and classify bacteria for medical diagnostics and food safety has passed a key hurdle by distinguishing between dead and living bacteria cells.
Conventional laboratory technologies require that samples be cultured for hours or longer to grow enough of the bacteria for identification and analysis, for example, to determine which antibiotic to prescribe. The new approach might be used to create arrays of hundreds of sensors on an electronic chip, each sensor detecting a specific type of bacteria or pinpointing the effectiveness of particular antibiotics within minutes.
"We have taken a step toward this long-term goal by showing how to distinguish between live and dead bacteria," said Muhammad Ashraful Alam, Purdue University's Jai N. Gupta Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering. "This is important because you need to be able to not only detect and identify bacteria, but to determine which antibiotics are effective in killing them."
Findings are detailed in a research paper appearing this week in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The paper was authored by doctoral student Aida Ebrahimi and Alam. The droplet sensor evolved from a device originally designed to detect small concentrations of negatively charged DNA molecules in research that began about four years ago, Ebrahimi said.
********
|
|
6. Connecticut scientists add Zika to mosquito virus tests
By Ed Stannard, the New Haven Register
Tri-City Herald
June 13, 2016
NEW HAVEN, Conn. -- Since mosquitoes have not brought other tropical diseases to Connecticut, it's unlikely that they'll bring the Zika virus either, according to Philip Armstrong, director of the mosquito-monitoring program at the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station.
"It's primarily a tropical disease, and I think it will stay that way," Armstrong said.
But ag station scientists will be testing the bugs for Zika just the same.
Full text:
********
|
|
7. Flaws Found in Seafood Traceability Rule
By Linda Larsen
Food Poisoning Bulletin
June 13, 2016
Oceana released a report last week revealing shortfalls in the Obama administration's proposed traceability rule to address seafood fraud in this country. The rule does not increase transparency for most of the seafood sold in the U.S. Oceana believes it should be expanded to include all seafood through the full supply chain.
Seafood fraud is any illegal activity that misrepresents seafood at the market. Mislabeling can hide illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing (IUU) that depletes fisheries, threatens wildlife on the brink of extinction, and stresses the ocean's ecosystems. It also cheats consumers and may hurt people who buy mislabeled products and are allergic to them. Antibiotics and pesticides may be used in industrial farming operations, but seafood may be labeled as wild. In addition, if larger fish are labeled as smaller fish, consumers may ingest naturally occurring toxins and environmental contaminants present in the large fish.
The Task Force on Combating IUU Fishing and Seafood Fraud was established in 2014. An action plan was released in 2015, requiring information to follow 13 "at risk" seafood types from the boat to the US. border. While this is a good first step, it leaves the rest of the seafood sold in the U.S. with no transparency. Seafood fraud occurs within this country too.
The report states that 74% of the 50 seafood types that have been mislabeled are not covered in this proposed rule. And 77% of the legal cases where seafood was ruled mislabeled occurred within the U.S. and are not covered under this new rule. In addition, the rule does nothing to trace the fish that are substituted in mislabeling. The report also states that 62% of the 180 seafood species identified as imposters in Oceana's analysis have health risks.
Full text:
********
|
|
