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1. 2016 EEE Case Counts on the Rise in Several States
By Erica Larson, News Editor
TheHorse.com
July 5, 2016
Animal health officials from several states have reported that they've confirmed additional Eastern equine encephalitis (EEE) cases in horses.
In North Carolina, officials announced July 1 that a Quarter Horse from Pitt County has died after contracting EEE. The horse exhibited signs of generalized weakness, stumbling, depression, and inability to stand or eat. This is the first reported case of EEE in a North Carolina horse this year.
Meanwhile, the Equine Disease Communication Center (EDCC) reported that animal health officials in Florida and South Carolina had confirmed additional equine EEE cases.
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2. DNR announces expansion of Chronic Wasting Disease Core Area and Management Zone [MI]
Michigan Dept. of Natural Resources News Release
July 5, 2016
The Michigan Natural Resources Commission expanded the Core Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) Area to include 17 townships. This area, which will continue to be referred to as Deer Management Unit (DMU) 333, now will consist of Lansing, Meridian, Williamstown, Delhi, Alaiedon and Wheatfield townships in Ingham County; DeWitt, Bath, Watertown, Eagle, Westphalia, Riley, Olive and Victor townships in Clinton County; Woodhull Township in Shiawassee County, and Oneida and Delta townships in Eaton County.
The CWD Management Zone also has expanded; it now will include the remainder of Clinton, Eaton, Ingham and Shiawassee counties, as well as all of Ionia County. The expanded Management Zone will be referred to as DMU 419.
"With the detection of CWD-positive deer in the southern part of Clinton County, we need to better understand the magnitude of the disease in those areas," said Chad Stewart, Department of Natural Resources deer specialist. "Expanding our surveillance to include those areas is key at this point, and we need help from landowners and hunters within the expanded zone to help us with this effort."
Other regulation changes include:
Banning deer feeding and baiting on all properties within the Core CWD Area and Management Zone.
Opening Eaton and Ionia counties to the early antlerless deer season.
Allowing roadkill deer in the Core CWD Area to be possessed and kept with a DNR-issued salvage tag from a law enforcement officer or DNR employee, as long as the head is submitted to a DNR biologist, biologist appointee or check station.
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3. USAPEEC Database Helps Poultry and Egg Exporters
WNAX.com
July 5, 2016
A database developed for the U.S.A. Poultry and Egg Export Council has been critical in keeping export markets open for U.S. producers, especially during last year's avian influenza outbreak. The database was developed by export consultant Bryant Christie. Director of Research Julie Cerenzia says the tool provides information on the export status of U.S. poultry and eggs in every market in the world and if there are any health or sanitary and phytosanitary issues.
She says the strength of this database also comes from the fact that its constantly updated with the most recent animal health and export information.
And so Cerenzia says it was invaluable during the many export twists and turns that accompanied the avian influenza outbreak in the U.S. in 2015. Currently there are only four markets that remain closed to U.S. poultry and egg exports following the bird flu.
The South Dakota Soybean Research and Promotion Council provided funding for the development of the database as poultry and egg exports are important to their business. The poultry industry is the top customer of U.S. soybean meal.
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4. Researchers and farmers collaborate to prevent E. coli [MI]
MSU Today
July 5, 2016
A collaborative Michigan State University study involving microbiologists, epidemiologists, animal scientists, veterinarians, graduate students, undergraduates and farmers could lead to better prevention practices to limit dangerous E. coli bacteria transmissions.
The study, published in Applied and Environmental Microbiology, a journal of the American Society for Microbiology, found that dairy cattle under stress from hot weather and energy loss from milk production were significantly more likely to shed Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli - or STEC - a type of E. coli that can cause serious illnesses in humans through the production of a potent toxin. Shedding is the process of expelling bacteria from the body, whether through the respiratory tract, the genital tract, or in the case of cattle, the intestinal tract through their feces.
This new finding provides an opportunity for targeting prevention practices to reduce the prevalence of these potentially deadly strains of E. coli, which cause approximately 100,000 illnesses, 3,000 hospitalizations and 90 deaths annually in the United States.
"Most importantly, our study involved cattle farmers who were willing to be involved in projects that help to improve the safety and quality of the food they produce," said Dan Grooms, MSU large animal veterinarian and a collaborator in the study.
The study sampled more than 1,000 cattle from six dairy farms and five feedlots in Michigan. Cattle are a common carrier of STEC, and food or water contaminated with cattle feces is a common source of E. coli infections in humans.
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5. During Obama Administration, USDA Has Made Most Significant Food Safety Updates Since 1950s
USDA Office of Communications Bulletin
July 5, 2016
WASHINGTON - Over the past seven years, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) has instituted some of the most significant updates to our country's food safety system since the 1950s, leading to a 12 percent drop in foodborne illness associated with meat, poultry and processed egg products from 2009 to 2015. Throughout July, at the height of summer grilling season, USDA will be highlighting these changes, introducing Americans to the men and women who are enacting them, and demonstrating the positive impacts for public health.
"The United States has the strongest food safety system in the world, and over the past seven years it has grown even stronger. We're better now at keeping unsafe food out of commerce, whether it's made unsafe because of dangerous bacteria, or because of an allergen, like peanuts or wheat," said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. "Over the course of this Administration, we have tightened our regulatory requirements for the meat and poultry industry, enhanced consumer engagement around safe food handling practices, and made smart changes to our own operations, ultimately moving the needle on the number of foodborne illness cases attributed to products that we regulate."
USDA has a role to play in ensuring the safety of virtually all foods produced and eaten in America, but its most direct responsibility is through FSIS, the public health agency charged with ensuring America's supply of meat, poultry and processed egg products is safe, wholesome, and correctly labeled and packaged. Through its Agricultural Marketing Service and research agencies, however, USDA is also working to help America's fruit, vegetable and grain producers comply with the landmark Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA), and is making groundbreaking discoveries that can lead to safer food production methods.
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6. Members of Senate, Congress urge USDA to revise pathogen testing protocols
Madison County Courier
July 5, 2016
Recent study found three antimicrobial sanitizers commonly used to reduce pathogens on poultry carcasses may cause false-negative results. Gillibrand, Feinstein, DeLauro & Slaughter: The USDA must respond to scientific findings that suggest testing techniques may interfere with or invalidate pathogen results
U.S. Senators Kirsten Gillibrand and Dianne Feinstein and Representatives Rosa Luisa DeLauro and Louise Slaughter today wrote to the U.S. Department of Agriculture urging them to revise current pathogen testing protocols to improve test accuracy and protect the public health. The members wrote to USDA Secretary, Thomas J. Vilsack in response an article published this month by the Agricultural Research Service entitled, "Effect of Simulated Sanitizer Carryover on Recovery of Salmonella from Broiler Carcass Rinsates," suggested the agency's use of three antimicrobial sanitizers commonly used to reduce pathogens on poultry carcasses may cause false-negative results for Salmonella.
Testing for Salmonella plays a critical role in the Department's inspection program to protect the safety of the food supply and the public's health. Given the diversity of processing plants in the country and recent results of the Broiler Carcass Rinsates study, the members are calling on the Department to ensure that the use of chemical sprays and dips do not create false negative test results.
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7. Dolly the sheep: Scotland's cloning breakthrough 20 years on [UK]
By Alastair Brian
STV.tv
July 5, 2016
In the summer of 1996, researchers at a laboratory in a small village near Edinburgh made a breakthrough which thrust them to the forefront of global science.
A sheep was cloned in Roslin using cells from the mammary gland of an adult ewe, the first time it had ever been done.
She was named Dolly, and the explanation belied the momentous nature of her birth.
As chief scientist Dr Ian Wilmut explained, Dolly's namesake was in fact country singer Dolly Parton
"Dolly is derived from a mammary gland cell and we couldn't think of a more impressive pair of glands than Dolly Parton's," he said.
The cloning was the result of a number of years spent researching techniques at the Roslin Institute.
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