Oklahoma and Kansas officials are conducting the nation’s first emergency response exercise to test interstate coordination and the logistics of implementing a stop livestock movement order when one is issued by state animal health officials.

The real-time exercise will take place Oct. 22 in the Oklahoma and Kansas state capitals and on the Oklahoma-Kansas border. The scenario is based on simulated outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease in the eastern United States.

“Oklahoma, like many states, has conducted exercises to test its plans to respond to a highly contagious foreign animal disease within its borders, but this exercise provides the new perspective of coordinating our activities with a neighboring state to stop animal movement across a shared border,” said Terry Peach, Oklahoma Secretary of Agriculture. “We have been planning our response to possible disease outbreaks for years and this exercise will be a good test for us.”

Animal health, agriculture, law enforcement, transportation and emergency management officials from both states will participate in the exercise by working as players, evaluators and actors. The exercise will be played out as realistically as possible, in real time, and it will involve both states emergency operations centers, key decision makers and local officials. Traffic will be screened at two border locations; one three miles north of Turpin on Highway 83 and the other at the intersection of Highways 160 and 183 near Sitka, Kansas.

In the exercise, the disease Oklahoma and Kansas officials are trying to prevent from affecting animals in their states is foot-and-mouth disease, a highly contagious disease of cattle, sheep, swine, goats, deer and other cloven-hooved animals that causes blisters on the mouth, teats and soft tissue of the feet. Infected animals have difficulty eating and walking. While it is painful for infected animals, it does not pose a significant threat to human health.

The exercise, titled SAMS-KO, or Stop Animal Movement Statewide KS-OK, is funded by a grant from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Oklahoma and Kansas are members of the Multi-State Partnership for Security in Agriculture, a consortium of 13 states that work together to protect the food and agriculture sector by sharing information and building interstate response capabilities. The partnership contracted with SES, inc. of Merriam, Kansas, to design and conduct the exercise to test the plans and coordination needed to successfully stop and screen livestock and livestock-related traffic involved in interstate commerce.

Foot-and-mouth disease was last identified in the United States in 1929. It is a primary concern for animal health officials because it could have potentially devastating economic consequences due to disrupted trade and lost investor confidence.

Dr. Brewer is reminding fair officials and animal health inpsectors how to deal with swine that exhibit flu-like symptoms at livestock shows. We cannot stress enough the importance of staying away from other people and livestock if you are ill.

PROTOCOL for sick swine:

Any swine on the grounds of the exhibition who exhibit all three of the following clinical signs will be removed from the exhibition barns. They can return home or go to an isolation area at the fair.

A barking cough
Nasal discharge
Body temperature greater that 104 degrees F

Our Livestock Inspectors will be making trips through the barns to identify sick pigs. If any of the animals have all three clinical signs, one of the ODAFF veterinarians will be called to collect nasal swabs and the pig will be moved to the isolation area. Both fairs have identified an isolation area.
Sick pigs will not show. If they have competed and have made the sale, a substitute animal will be allowed in the sale. If they have not shown, they will not be allowed to do so.

Oklahoma currently is at the widespread H1N1 designation in the human population. The danger at these shows is the exposure of healthy pigs by a sick fair goer or exhibitor.
I would like to recommend that sick exhibitors should not be involved in caring for or in exhibiting project pigs.

AGAIN, PLEASE STRESS TO YOUR EXHIBITORS AND STUDENTS, DON’T WORK WITH PROJECT PIGS IF YOU HAVE INFLUENZA LIKE ILLNESS (ILI)

Becky Brewer, State Veterinarian

The following story is from Pork magazine’s online edition. The media and even some agencies that should know better continue to call the Novel H1N1 influenza virus the “swine flu” even though it is fully established that this isn’t the case. Jack Carson

Vilsack Stresses H1N1 Media Responsibility
By Rick Jordahl | Thursday, September 10, 2009

In a media briefing Thursday morning, USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack addressed the department’s preparations for the upcoming fall flu season and reminded media of the importance of accurate reporting when referring to the new flu strain.

Vilsack stressed the importance for media to transition completely from the use of “swine flu” in their reporting to use of H1N1 when referring to the novel influenza strain. “The media is causing undue and undeserved harm to America’s agriculture industry and especially to U. S. pork producers who are experiencing severe economic losses in these challenging times,” said Vilsack. “Every time the flu is misrepresented, it makes it more difficult for pork producers as well as others in rural communities who suffer as well.”

Click here for the full story!

Farmers and ranchers may be inadvertently aiding and abetting one of their worst enemies, the feral hog, by providing supplemental feed for white-tailed deer and other wildlife, said a Texas AgriLife Extension Service wildlife expert.

But a new study conducted at the Welder Wildlife Foundation near Sinton showed that is it possible to design fencing that allows deer access to feeders while excluding feral hogs, said Dr. Billy Higginbotham, AgriLife Extension fisheries and wildlife specialist. Click here for the full story.

Oklahoma is receiving $91,000 through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to be given to commercial fish producers who suffered losses associated with high feed costs during the 2008 calendar year.

Producers are encouraged to contact Dr. Rod Hall, Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food, and Forestry Animal Industry Aquaculture Program Administrator. He can be reached at 405-522-6126 or by email at rod.hall@oda.state.ok.us.

The amount producers may receive will depend on the amount of feed they purchased in 2008. Eligible species of fish include catfish, goldfish, baitfish, largemouth bass and tilapia.

The purpose of this memo is to assist you in following regulations when holding a swine exhibition in your school, town, county, district, region or state.

PRIOR TO THE SHOW:
1. The location of the exhibition must have a Premise ID.
a. Issued to the owner or the agent of the owner for a facility.
b. May be obtained at http://ok.locatein48.com/registration.html or by calling 405-522-6124.
c. To expedite issuance of a premise ID you may download the registration form and submit it to ODAFF Animal Industry via fax or mail. (Fax 405-522-0756)
2. All exhibitions must submit a Swine Exhibition Permit Application
a. May be obtained at http://www.oda.state.ok.us/forms/ais/swineexib.pdf or by calling 405-522-6124.

AT THE SHOW:
It is the responsibility of the show management to check for appropriate documents on each animal to ensure it meets health requirements and to record the Premise ID number for each exhibited hog.

1. Health Documents
a. Oklahoma Swine
i. Shall have individual identification (button tag and ear notch or official ID*).
ii. Shall be accompanied by an official test chart with the negative results for Pseudorabies and Brucellosis (after June 1 each year for fall exhibitions and after December 1 each year for spring exhibitions), or
iii. Originate from a validated/qualified (V/Q) herd and be accompanied by a Certificate of Veterinary Inspection (CVI) listing, each animal with ID (ear notch or official), the V/Q herd numbers and the date of the last official quarterly test**.
b. Out-of-State Swine:
i. Shall have an official ID*, and
ii. A CVI for each exhibition listing the individual ID for each animal.
iii. The CVI shall include either the negative result from an official Pseudorabies and Brucellosis test within thirty (30) days prior to each exhibition (test chart attached) or
iv. The qualified Pseudorabies/validated Brucellosis herd numbers and the date of the last quarterly test**.
c. *Official ID shall consist of any official tag approved by USDA and the State Veterinarian, including the 9 character metal ear tag or any approved 15 character NAIS electronic or visual ear tag.
d. **V/Q herd owners and immediate family members of herd owner
e. Individual shows may have additional entry requirements such as CVI, individual swine identification or testing and vaccinations.
2. Swine Exhibitor Premise ID recording requirement examples:
a. One Premise ID for all swine kept at a location.
i. If a family has three (3) children showing a total of eight hogs and all are kept at the family farm, only the family farm Premise ID is required.
ii. If the family allows the child of a friend or a relative to house a hog at the farm, the friend or relative uses the ID of the farm where the hog is housed.
b. One Premise ID is required for an “Ag School Farm.”
i. If fifteen (15) students have 22 hogs at the facility, all exhibits will list the Ag School Farm Premise ID.
ii. If a hog is kept at the Ag School Farm and then moved to the student’s home location, the home location must have a Premise ID for the student to show.
c. If a breeder sells a hog to a student and allows the student to keep the hog at the breeder’s farm, that breeder must have a Premise ID and the student will use the breeder’s Premise ID to show.
3. Please review the document Biosecurity Recommendations for Management of Swine at Exhibitions, Sales and On-Farm.

AFTER THE SHOW
As required by the Swine Exhibition Permit:
1. The following records must be submitted to Animal Industry Services with fifteen (15) days after the event (electronic spreadsheet is preferred).
a. Exhibitor name, address, and phone number.
b. Premise ID and/or all Premise Registration forms collected at the exhibition.
c. Individual pig ID.
d. Test Status
2. Once receipt of documents has been verified by Animal Industry Services, exhibition management is not required to retain any of the electronic or hard copy records.

OKLAHOMA ADMINISTRATIVE RULE (http://www.sos.state.ok.us/oar/oar_welcome.htm.)
1. 35:15-22-71. Exhibition requirements
e. The official in charge shall obtain a permit from the Department prior to conducting a swine exhibition.
f. The official in charge shall verify that all swine present meet all testing and recordation requirements.
2. 35:15-1-4. Exhibitions and shows
a. As of August 1, 2009, each person who presents swine for a swine exhibition shall provide verification of a Federal Premise Identification Number.
b. A swine exhibition shall not include a livestock market.

If you have any questions contact Animal Industry Services, Oklahoma Dept. of Agriculture, Food and Forestry, 405-522-6131. After hours, contact Dr. Becky Brewer, 405-812-7090

If an exhibitor arrives at an exhibition without a Premise ID, a premise registration application may be completed and submitted to show management. The form must be signed by a parent, guardian or third party, 18 years of age or older, who must be the owner of the property where the hog has been kept. Show management shall submit all premise ID registration forms with the show records within 15 days following the exhibition.

Cattle Tuberculosis Confirmed in Texas;
Check with States of Destination Before Shipping Cattle

Cattle tuberculosis (TB) has been confirmed in a west Texas dairy that has been quarantined since April when some cattle in the herd responded to a TB test being conducted prior to a sale. (The sale was cancelled.)

The cattle TB diagnosis was confirmed at the National Veterinary Services Laboratory (NVSL) in Ames, Iowa, where M. bovis, or cattle TB bacteria, was grown or “cultured” from tissues that had been collected during the necropsy of the test-positive cattle.

“The infected herd remains quarantined while the final disposition of the herd is determined­either slaughtering the herd, or repeatedly testing and removing infected animals until the herd is free of cattle TB,” said Dr. Bob Hillman, Texas’ state veterinarian and head of the Texas Animal Health Commission (TAHC), the state’s livestock and poultry health regulatory agency. “Dairy, calf-raising and dairy animal replacement operations with epidemiological links to the infected herd are being tested to determine both the origin and potential spread of the disease.”

“I encourage ranchers or accredited veterinarians to call the state of destination prior to shipping bison, beef or dairy cattle out of Texas,” said Dr. Hillman. “Some states may impose enhanced TB entry requirements on Texas cattle and bison. Keep in mind, too, that many states, like Texas, have implemented cattle trichomoniasis testing requirements, so call before you haul.”

Dr. Hillman said Texas’ cattle TB-free status with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) could be in jeopardy, if the infected dairy cannot be depopulated, or if a second infected herd is detected within 48 months.

Nebraska, in early June, confirmed TB infection in a beef herd. Currently, California and Minnesota are not cattle TB-free, and areas in Michigan and New Mexico have specified zones that are not TB-free. When TB-free status is lost, breeding cattle and bison moved out of a state need a negative TB test within 60 days prior to shipment, or animals must originate from a herd that has accredited TB-free status, achieved through a formal testing and retesting program.

Texas initially gained TB-free status in November 2000, when all counties except El Paso and portions of Hudspeth Counties were declared free of the disease. (The El Paso Milk Shed had a history of recurring infection, and eventually, the dairies were depopulated. Dairies no longer operate in this area along the U.S.-Mexican border near El Paso.)

In June 2002, Texas lost TB-free status after infection was detected in a beef herd and in an operation with both beef and dairy cattle. To regain TB-free status, 2,014 Texas purebred beef herds and the state’s 818 dairies were tested for the disease from October 2003 through August 2006. One TB-infected dairy was detected and depopulated. In September 2006, the USDA issued the coveted TB-free status for all of Texas’ 254 counties.

When exposed to cattle TB, an animal’s immune system will fight the invasion by encapsulating the bacteria. This can cause the formation of lesions or growths in and on lymph nodes, mammary glands, lungs and other internal organs. Although infected, the animals may appear healthy, until the latter stages of the disease, when signs may include weight loss, coughing or breathing difficulties. The disease is not treatable in livestock.

“Cattle TB is a serious, transmissible disease that can spread among herds,” said Dr. Hillman. “In the early 1900s, when the national cattle TB eradication program was initiated, more than five percent of the country’s herds were infected with the disease. At that time, cattle TB posed a significant human health threat, because consumers could become infected when they drank raw, unpasteurized milk that had not been through heat-treatment to kill bacteria. Today, commercially produced milk is pasteurized. While bovine TB is still a human health threat, other forms of tuberculosis, such as the human and avian strains, now pose the greatest risk of TB exposure to persons.”
–Jack Carson

Equine Piroplasmosis has been confirmed on a premise in Jackson County, Missouri. At this time it appears that 7 horses are infected. The index horse is a 7-year-old quarter horse gelding that exhibited clinical signs consistent with Equine Piroplasmosis on June 1. It is very early in the investigation and additional information will be provided in the future.

Here is a link to the American Veterinary Medical Association website about Equine Piroplasmosis.

–Jack Carson