United States Department of Agriculture-accredited veterinarians are crucial partners in protecting the health of Michigan’s animal population. An important piece of that protection is issuing Interstate Certificates of Veterinary Inspection (ICVIs) for animals traveling across state borders. Not only do ICVIs help keep potential disease out of the state, they are critical for tracing animal movements in the event of a disease outbreak.

In order to correctly issue ICVIs, always follow these five good management practices:

1.      All ICVIs must be filled out completely and legibly. Incomplete forms will be rejected and the issuing USDA-accredited veterinarian will receive a letter of education. In addition, there may be disciplinary action for the issuing veterinarian and/or your clients. Call MDARD at 1-800-292-3939 if you need assistance completing the form.

2.      Use the correct, most up-to-date form which is appropriate for the species and for the destination. There are separate forms for interstate movement of small animals (which include exotics) and livestock. For international movements, contact USDA at 517-337-4700 for the proper form.

3.      Contact the state of destination State Animal Health Official for movement requirements, which may include animal identification, disease testing, vaccinations and prior entry permits. Find a listing of officials at: http://bit.ly/StateAHO. For air travel, remind clients to contact the airline for pet policies, including temperature acclimation statements that may be required on the ICVI.

4.      Issue the certificate within 10 days of examination. One copy must accompany the animal in transit, one copy must be kept by the issuing USDA-accredited veterinarian for five years, and the original copy must be submitted to MDARD within seven calendar days of issue. MDARD processes the ICVI and then forwards it to the state of destination within seven calendar days. Paper ICVIs may be sent to MDARD via mail at Michigan Department of Agriculture & Rural Development, Animal Industry Division, P.O. Box 30017, Lansing, MI 48909; email at cvi@michigan.gov; or fax at 517-241-1560. Electronic ICVIs are automatically emailed to the state of origin and the state of destination upon issuance.

5.      For international exports, contact the USDA at 517-337-4700 for movement requirements and forms to complete for the country of destination. It’s important your clients know some countries have lengthy requirements which may take months to complete.

If you have any questions about ICVIs or movement requirements, contact MDARD’s Import/Export Coordinator at (800) 292-3939. If you would like to become USDA-accredited, contact the USDA office in East Lansing at 517-337-4700. 

Every spring brings with it the annual “chick season” when many Michiganders purchase baby poultry to raise for table eggs, for meat birds or even as pets. Occasionally, this activity results in human illnesses caused by Salmonella. Young poultry often carry Salmonella bacteria, which doesn’t make the birds ill but can affect people, particularly young children or immune-compromised individuals. Frequently, the human illnesses are a result of inappropriate housing and handling of the birds and from bird owners not practicing basic sanitation precautions. It is important for veterinarians to remind their bird-owning clients that their birds may be carrying Salmonella - even when they appear healthy and to stress the importance of practicing proper hygiene when handling their birds. Salmonella in people can cause diarrhea, vomiting, fever and/or abdominal cramps lasting four to seven days or more. People should always assume poultry, especially baby chicks, carry Salmonella and should follow these recommendations to protect themselves and others:   

• Children younger than five-years-of-age, older adults or people with weak immune systems should not handle or touch chicks, ducklings or other poultry because they are more likely to become severely ill. 
• Wash your hands thoroughly with soap and water after touching the birds or anything in their environment. Adults should supervise hand washing for young children.
• Use hand sanitizer until you can wash your hands thoroughly with soap and water. 
• Always keep poultry away from areas where food or drink is prepared, served or stored, such as kitchens or outdoor patios.
• Do not kiss the chicks.
• Do not touch your mouth, smoke, eat or drink - after handling poultry.
• Frequently clean all equipment such as cages, feed, water containers and other materials associated with raising or caring for poultry.

For more information, visit: http://www.cdc.gov/features/salmonellababybirds/

Scrapie is a transmissible spongiform encephalopathy affecting sheep and goats. The presence of classical scrapie in the U.S. sheep and goat population affects industry economically through production losses, lost exports, and increased production and disposal costs. Since 2002, approximately 500,000 sheep and goats have been tested for scrapie nationwide. Most samples are collected through Routine Slaughter Surveillance System. The rest of animals tested are a result of on-farm sampling, often in traces from positive flocks/ herds. To date, there have been about 500 positive animals found in U.S. Michigan typically tests about 2,000 sheep and 150 goats per year through RSSS. Since October 1, 2015, Michigan has had one scrapie positive sheep in on-farm testing (part of a trace from an out-of-state flock) and zero animals detected through RSSS. From October 1, 2015 through April 30, 2016, in U.S. one scrapie positive sheep was found through RSSS and 12 sheep thru on-farm. Public health concerns related to the transmission of bovine spongiform encephalopathy to humans have resulted in efforts to eradicate all TSEs in food-producing animals. In order to declare the U.S. “scrapie free,” we must be able to prove to the world we have conducted a statistically significant number of tests the sheep and goat populations. Monitoring the number of sheep and goats moving through livestock markets with official identification helps with animal disease traceability, minimizing resources spent when doing disease investigations. Cooperatively with USDA’s Veterinary Services, the scrapie program works to:

• Promptly investigate sheep and goat reportable diseases, when applicable, assist USDA in efforts to eradicate scrapie in the U.S. and work cooperatively with USDA, educate producers about sheep and goat identification requirements and take compliance actions as necessary.
• Inspect sheep and goat at livestock markets for ID compliance levels.
• Cooperatively with USDA, work toward 100 percent ID compliance for sheep and goats presented to livestock marketing channels.

In Michigan, all sheep and goats must be identified with official identification approved by the national scrapie program to move off premises. There are many forms of ID which qualify as official ID for the scrapie program. To order any scrapie program ID, a scrapie flock ID is required. A scrapie flock ID is an unique identifier assigned by USDA and is different from a state or national premises ID. Contact the USDA at 517-337-4705 to get your scrapie flock ID.