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1. Bovine TB Focus Of June 30 Meeting In Franklin Co. [IN]
By Mike Perleberg
EagleCountryOnline.com
June 24, 2016
Franklin County, Ind. - A disease found among cattle in Franklin County will be the focus of a community meeting next week.
Bovine tuberculosis was detected in cattle at a meat processing facility in Pennsylvania in April. The TB was traced to herds at two Franklin County farms.
The Indiana State Board of Animal Health has been working to stop the spread of the TB, working with local cattle owners to track the sales and movement of the cows. All cattle in a three-mile radius of the infected sites are being tested for the disease, free of charge to the owners. The surveillance zone includes about 30 producers, according to a May 20 notice from the BOAH.
All animals which test positive are being promptly removed to prevent further spread.
The board will host a community meeting on Thursday, June 30 at 6:30 p.m. at the Franklin County Government Center in Brookville. State veterinarian Dr. Bret D. Marsh will update the situation and answer questions.
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2. AGFC passes special regulations to slow disease [AR]
Arkansas Game and Fish Commission Press Release
June 24, 2016
LITTLE ROCK - Commissioners voted unanimously today during special meeting to approve a Chronic Wasting Disease Management Zone made up of Boone, Carroll, Johnson, Logan, Madison, Marion, Newton, Pope, Searcy and Yell counties.
CWD has been found in five of these counties since first being discovered in Arkansas in late February. The AGFC has circulated proposals to slow the spread of the disease for the last month through 11 public meetings throughout the state, a live call-in show on AETN and an electronic survey at agfc.com.
Feeding wildlife will be prohibited within the 10-county CWD management zone. However, baiting for the purpose of hunting will be allowed September 1 through December 31, when more than 95 percent of Arkansas's deer harvest takes place.
"We opened the time frame up slightly to include September because we have three urban hunts within the CWD management zone which open in September," said Brad Carner, AGFC chief of wildlife management. "Baiting is a useful tool to increase the harvest in these areas where we need to reduce deer density."
Food plots are not included in the feeding prohibition, nor are backyard bird-feeding stations, hand-feeding of wildlife or normal agricultural or livestock practices.
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3. How to treat, prevent snakebite in cattle and horses
By Heather Smith Thomas
Beef Magazine
June 22, 2016
In just about any place that cattle graze, venomous snakes slither and that means the chance for snakebite is ever-present. And anyone who has seen the after-effects in a snakebitten cow, horse or dog knows just how toxic the venom can be.
Rattlesnake venom contains two types of toxins-myotoxins and hemotoxins-according to Ginger Elliott, a veterinarian from Guthrie, Texas, who has seen many snakebitten animals. "The myotoxins create rapid swelling, pain and bleeding at the bite site and muscle necrosis, while the hemotoxins damage blood vessels, destroying red blood cells and hindering blood clotting. The damage is often relative to the size of the animal. Small rodents are immobilized by the toxins and die quickly, enabling the snake to eat them," she explains.
The toxins (and amounts of each) can differ in various bites, and have different effects on the body. "Some rattlesnake venom contains more muscle toxins. Sometimes we see more swelling and lymph issues and more spread of the toxin systemically. Our western diamondbacks have venom containing mostly myotoxins," explains Elliott.
"As a general rule, the prairie rattler has more hemotoxins and we see some swelling but perhaps less tissue destruction. When toxins enter the bloodstream and lymph tissues, they can spread systemically. But many types of venom have several toxic components and consequently there are some unusual cases," she says.
The higher up the leg, such as near armpit or groin, the worse it might be, says Jacques Fuselier, a veterinarian with the Whittington Veterinary Clinic, Abbeville, La.
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4. EIA-Suspect Horse Identified In Colorado
By Edited Press Release
TheHorse.com
June 24, 2016
On June 23 the Colorado Department of Agriculture (CDA) State Veterinarian's Office received notice from the USDA National Veterinary Services Laboratory (NVSL) that a nonracing horse presently located at Arapahoe Park in Aurora, Colorado, tested positive for equine infectious anemia (EIA).
Confirmatory tests are currently being run, and Arapahoe Park is currently under a hold order that restricts movement of horses until the CDA completes an initial investigation. The affected horse has been in Colorado less than 60 days and came from an out-of-state track. It appears that the horse was infected prior to coming to Colorado and previously tested negative for the disease in May 2015. Because the disease is most commonly spread by biting flies and it is very early in Colorado's fly season, the risk of disease transmission to other horses at the track appears to be relatively low.
Personnel from the CDA and USDA Veterinary Services will be working with Arapahoe Park and the horse's owner to gather more information to appropriately respond to the initial positive EIA test.
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5. Drought like conditions threaten livestock water quality
NDSU Extension
FarmForum.net
June 24, 2016
While some parts of North Dakota have received ample rainfall during the early growing season, other areas have not and are experiencing reduced hay crops and lack of pasture regrowth. In addition, these areas are having water quality issues in places where rainfall is needed to refresh stock ponds and watering holes.
"There are reports of areas in the southwest and parts of central North Dakota that are having water quality issues in stock ponds and watering holes where cattle have no other options for water," says North Dakota State University Extension Service livestock environmental stewardship specialist Miranda Meehan.
Poor water quality can impact livestock health negatively, according to Gerald Stokka, NDSU Extension veterinarian and livestock stewardship specialist.
"At a minimum, it can result in decreased water consumption, reducing feed intake and gains," he adds. "However, elevated levels of some salts and bacteria can result in severe illness and even death."
NDSU veterinary toxicologist Michelle Mostrom says water sources should be tested for total dissolved solids (TDS), sulfates and nitrates. TDS measure salts. These levels should be less than 5,000 parts per million (ppm) for most classes of grazing livestock. Elevated levels of TDS may not be harmful to livestock health.
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6. USDA Offers Predator Damage Management Workshop in Colorado
USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service Bulletin
June 23, 2016
Preventing and Managing Livestock Predation
Thursday, July 14, 2016, 1:30 - 6:00 p.m., Montrose Pavilion
Montrose, CO
RIVERDALE, Md.- The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Animal Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) Wildlife Services (WS) program will present a workshop, "Preventing and Managing Predation on Livestock," on Thursday July 14, 2016, from 1:30 p.m. - 6:00 p.m. at the Montrose Pavilion, 1800 Pavilion Drive, Montrose, Colorado.
Ranchers and predator advocates are invited to learn about using methods to prevent or reduce predation, with a focus on coyote and black bear predation on sheep. Presentations will highlight black bear ecology, population status and management; new guard dog research examining new dog breeds; what research has learned about effectively managing predators to protect livestock on range; and effective integration of herders, guard dogs and range riding to deter predation.
This workshop, co-hosted by USDA Wildlife Services and Colorado Wool Growers, will provide the science-based information that goes into developing integrated predator damage management plans. This workshop will provide the latest information on large-breed guard dog studies, black bear management and the perspective of a sheep rancher using integrated wildlife management approach. Speakers will come from Colorado Parks & Wildlife, the U.S. Forest Service, Wildlife Services operations and research units, and private industry. (More information)
Registration is limited to 100 participants. To attend, contact Kimberly Perry at Kimberly.D.Perry@aphis.usda.gov or 303-236-5810. You will be asked to register for the meeting to ensure adequate seating but there is no charge for the workshop.
Producers throughout the West have had a positive response to Wildlife Services workshops on wildlife/predation damage management, including nonlethal methods, in California, Oregon, Montana, Minnesota, Oklahoma, Wisconsin, Idaho and Texas since 2014. Additional workshops are planned for Washington, Utah, and Nevada.
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7. Obituary: Roger Gerrard Breeze
A ProMED-mail post
http://www.promedmail.org
ProMED-mail is a program of the International Society for Infectious Diseases
June 24, 2016
Dr. Roger Breeze, BVMS, Ph.D, MRCVS, a preeminent veterinary research scientist and biosecurity expert who supported international efforts for anticipating and responding to emerging risks and threats from biological agents and emerging diseases, died on 14 Jun 2016 in Washington DC.
Roger Breeze was prescient advocate for recognition of the potential great benefits and equally significant potential security threats presented by the emerging new fields of molecular biology and genetic engineering. Roger was an early One Health advocate and proponent of new PCR-based diagnostic testing technologies and a strong advocate for the adoption of standardized PCR diagnostic testing methodologies for humans and animals.
Dr. Breeze was a Member of the UK Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons and a member of the U.S. National Academies - Institute of Medicine's Forum on Microbial Threats and National Academies - Committee on Biodefense Analysis and Countermeasures. For the past decade, Roger served as an advisor on biosecurity and biological/chemical weapons nonproliferation issues to the Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) and the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.
Roger Breeze received the Presidential Distinguished Executive Rank Award in 1998 for his current work as Associate Administrator for Special Research Programs at the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Agricultural Research Service (USDA-ARS) to establish and direct a new program for counterterrorism and biological weapons defense for U.S. agriculture and food supply chains, and previous work as Director of the USDA - Plum Island Animal Disease Center. At Plum Island, Dr. Breeze supervised a major renovation and modernization of the laboratory facilities and implemented a redesign of existing biosafety and biosecurity practices. He initiated new research programs into the genomic basis of disease pathogenesis, genetically engineered vaccine development, and real-time PCR diagnostic tests. Roger fostered the establishment of a worldwide network of international cooperative research programs whose legacy continues through to the present day.
Before joining USDA-ARS, Roger had a distinguished academic career in the United Kingdom and the United States. Dr. Breeze received his Bachelor of Veterinary Medicine and Surgery and a PhD in Veterinary Pathology from the University of Glasgow and was a member of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons. He was engaged in teaching and research on respiratory and cardiovascular diseases pathology at the University of Glasgow - School of Veterinary Medicine and the Washington State University - College of Veterinary Medicine. While at Washington State University, Roger Breeze served as Chairman of the Department of Veterinary Microbiology and Pathology and Associate Dean for Research in the College of Veterinary Medicine before moving on to become Deputy Director of the Washington Technology Center at the University of Washington - College of Engineering.
To his colleagues, Roger may be most remembered for his engaging and inclusive personality, his exuberance and enthusiasm, his collegiality, and his singular ability to make the un-seeable appear self-evident.
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[Posted on June 26, 2016]
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