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MPTL approaching one year anniversary with exciting additions
The Minnesota Poultry Testing Laboratory will celebrate its one-year expansion and remodeling anniversary this October. A lot has happened since the grand opening celebration in 2016. The University of Minnesota Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory recently highlighted three major advancements at the MPTL.
First, the MPTL staff in Willmar are happy to welcome Dr. Saad Gharaibeh as the team's new avian pathologist. Dr. Gharaibeh graduated from Jordan University of Science and Technology in 1996 and completed a PhD in Veterinary Pathology and Avian Medicine at the University of Georgia in Athens, Georgia in 2001...
Second, the MPTL has added additional PCR testing to the lab. The lab currently does PCR testing for Mycoplasma gallisepticum, iowae, meleagridis and synoviae in addition to Avian Influenza, Avian Metepneumovirus, and Newcastle Disease. The St. Paul location no longer routinely conducts these PCR tests and all testing will be sent to the MPTL...
Third, as of July 24, the MPTL began a daily courier service (M-F) to the Uof M-VDL in St. Paul. Samples, culture plates and other specimens for testing at the U of M-VDL in St. Paul must arrive at the MPTL by 9:00 am for same day delivery...
Read the rest of these stories on the University of Minnesota's website by clicking this link.
NPIP Biosecurity Principles and the Official State Agency
Analysis of the 2015 Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza
(HPAI) event revealed that after the initial handful of introductions, some of the subsequent infections of H5N2 HPAI virus were due to farm-to-farm spread.
Expectations for preventing or reducing
future introductions will require increased biosecurity measures on farm. The NPIP and
USDA-APHIS, in collaboration
with the poultry industry, have incorporated a set of poultry Biosecurity
Principles into the NPIP Program Standards. The intent of these basic disease prevention principles is to have
minimum management practices that poultry operations must follow to be eligible
for indemnity in the event HPAI is detected in their facility. Each premises should have a biosecurity plan
that includes but is not limited to, these NPIP biosecurity principles.
The 14 Biosecurity Principles:
- Biosecurity Responsibility.
- Training.
- Line of Separation (LOS).
- Perimeter Buffer Area (PBA).
- Personnel.
- Wild Birds, Rodents and Insects.
- Equipment and Vehicles.
- Mortality Disposal.
- Manure and Litter Management.
- Replacement Poultry.
- Water Supplies.
- Feed and Replacement Litter.
- Reporting of Elevated
Morbidity and Mortality.
- Auditing.
Per USDA, these Biosecurity Principles will be required
for all commercial poultry premises with the following exemptions of annual
production levels less than:
- 75,000 for table-egg layers.
- 25,000 for upland game birds and waterfowl.
- 100,000 for broilers.
- 30,000 for meat-type turkeys.
Despite these exemptions, most industry experts agree that
all commercial poultry operations should participate.
The Next Steps –
The auditing portion of these principles falls under the oversight of the NPIP
Official State Agency in each state. In
Minnesota, the Official State Agency (OSA) is the Minnesota Board of Animal
Health, and it will be responsible for conducting the audits and providing an
audit summary to USDA-APHIS. All
audits will be paper audits; there will be no site visits. Requested audit materials may be provided in
either paper or electronic formats.
Find resources on the NPIP website by following this link. Under the left hand column, select NPIP
Program Standards -> Biosecurity Principles.
For assistance or resources on how to implement these
principles on your farm, please work with your veterinarian. Abby Neu with the University of Minnesota
Extension-Poultry is also available for assistance at 320-235-0726 x 2019.
USDA seeks input to change classical swine fever status in Mexico
The
U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection
Service (APHIS) is proposing to
recognize Mexico as free of classical swine fever (CSF).
Since the APHIS status was first published in 2014, the World Organization for Animal Health recognized Mexico as
CSF-free. Following that decision, Mexico’s government requested APHIS also suspend
its rulemaking and instead continue evaluating Mexico’s CSF status. Based on a 2015 APHIS site visit to Mexico, and additional information submitted by Mexico’s government, APHIS determined current
conditions support CSF-free recognition for all of Mexico.
According to APHIS, "This newly
proposed action would relieve CSF-specific restrictions on the importation of
pork and pork products from Mexico, while continuing to protect the United
States against this serious swine disease. However, other animal health
concerns related to the import of live swine and swine genetics have not yet
been evaluated and will still need to be addressed before live swine and swine
genetics may be imported from Mexico."
APHIS is inviting
public comments on the evaluation for 60 days before it makes a final determination.
This evaluation is available for public comment by clicking this link. Written comments can also be submitted through the mail:
Docket
No. APHIS-2016-0038
Regulatory Analysis and Development, PPD, APHIS, Station
3A-03.8
4700 River Road Unit 118, Riverdale, MD 20737-1238.
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