Protecting Minnesota's horses with import requirements and tick season is upon us!

Minnesota Board of Animal Health sent this bulletin at 03/17/2021 12:38 PM CDT

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Animal Bytes

March 2021

Equine import precautions in response to European outbreak

The U.S. is experiencing an increase in Equine Herpesvirus Myeloencephalopathy (EHM) cases in recent days (California, Florida, Kentucky, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Utah). Additionally, Europe has also been reporting outbreaks of an aggressive strain of the disease with some concern that associated cases are represented in U.S. numbers due to spread from equine imports. As these cases are manifesting on the cusp of the early spring show season, please take time to review information about this disease, consult with your veterinarian for preventative measures, and enhance your biosecurity protocols at home as well as at equine events.

Equine herpesvirus (EHV) is a contagious virus that can cause four clinical presentations including: neurological disease, respiratory disease, neonatal death and abortion. Equine herpesvirus myeloencephalopathy (EHM) is the neurologic disease that develops as a result of EHV infection. The virus has been associated with neurologic cases in llamas and alpacas, but has no effect on people or other types of livestock.

The virus is usually spread in nasal secretions between horses that are in close contact with each other or that share water or feed pails. The virus does not typically survive very long in the environment or on people or equipment. It is killed readily by most disinfectants, ultraviolet light and by drying. Infected horses are generally treated with supportive care. Anti-inflammatory drugs and antiviral medications are often used for those that develop the neurologic form of the disease.

EHM positive horses and EHM exposed horses must be quarantined as outlined in the Board of Animal Health EHM control plan. Board staff members will then work with herd veterinarians and horse owners to carry out the testing and observation protocols defined in the control plan before the quarantines can be released. Additionally, the Board of Animal Health will post addresses on their website of farms with confirmed EHM positive cases as well as events where those horses attended while contagious, until the quarantine has expired.

More EHV information can be found at: Equine Herpesvirus Resources | AAEP

Keep reading...

Minnesota's farmed cervid herds decreasing

The Board's farmed cervid program has been tracking a declining trend in the state's cervid herds. The Board doesn't specifically track why producers close their herds, but has collected some data on herd closures since January 1, 2017 and whether they were part of a CWD Endemic area when the producer chose to disperse the herd. A CWD endemic area is established by the Board when CWD is found in wild white-tailed deer.

The Board’s CWD endemic area only affects farmed cervid herds, and the animals in the herds are restricted from moving to other locations in Minnesota, unless the producer constructs an additional barrier around the herd to prevent commingling (fence line contact) between their animals and wild deer.

Since January 1, 2017, 247 farmed cervid herd producers have discontinued farming cervids in Minnesota.

16 of those producers discontinued farming related to a CWD quarantine or due to cancellation of their registration.
Of the remaining 231 herds that have been dispersed:
- 16 of those herds were part of a CWD Endemic area when the herd was dispersed.
- 215 herds were not part of a CWD Endemic area.

516 herds were in operation dating back to 2017.

468 outside an endemic area.
- 12 of these 468 herds were dispersed for regulatory reasons, either due to a CWD quarantine or registration cancellation. Of the remaining 456 herds, 215 (47.1%) of these herds closed in Minnesota during this period.
48 inside an endemic area.
- 4 of these 48 herds were dispersed for regulatory reasons, either due to a CWD quarantine or registration cancellation. Of the remaining 44 herds, 16 (36.4%) closed during this period.

Tick season is here and awareness is important

Ticks are commonly found throughout Minnesota, so you should not be alarmed if you find a low number of ticks attached to your animals. However, some types of ticks may spread disease and some types of ticks may be considered invasive in this state. It is important to increase awareness and understanding of the different types of ticks affecting Minnesota’s livestock and other animals. Veterinarians, livestock producers, pet owners, and any other member of the public are encouraged to review the Board's tick resources webpage. If you’re concerned about a tick infestation or tick diseases impacting livestock or other animals, please reach out to your veterinarian.

Proper identification and record keeping for sheep and goats

The University of Minnesota Extension is hosting a webinar on Thursday, March 18 at 6:30 p.m. to discuss the importance of proper identification and record keeping systems for sheep and goat operations. Farmers, 4-Hers, ag business professionals who work with farmers, and those interested in goats or sheep are invited to attend.

Register for the webinar online. Contact Brenda Miller at nels4220@umn.edu or Colleen Carlson at traxl042@umn.edu if you have questions or need assistance.

Speakers and topics

Dr. Stacey Schwabenlander, DVM, from the Minnesota Board of Animal Health, will define scrapie, discuss the scrapie eradication program, and where and how to get sheep/goat scrapie tags.

Dr. Cindy Wolf, DVM, will discuss the traceability of animal disease and will demonstrate the use of the RFID ear tags with the Shearwell stick reader. In addition, Cindy will cover the economics and efficiency of technology utilization of record keeping for managing different size operations.

Dan Persons, sheep producer and U.S. sales and support representative for Shearwell Data Ltd, will talk about how to go about finding a record keeping system that works for you and your operation. Dan will explain how to identify high/low performers in your herd and how to make replacement/culling decisions accordingly.

Proposal to eliminate Voluntary Trichinae Certification Program

The USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) is proposing to eliminate the Voluntary Trichinae Certification Program and remove the regulations associated with the program from the Code of Federal Regulations. This program generates little producer participation and this action would allow APHIS to direct resources to areas of greater need.

The U.S. commercial swine herd is free of trichinae, which are parasitic roundworms found in many warm-blooded carnivores and omnivores, including swine. However, extremely limited participation in the voluntary program has caused some confusion with trading partners over the trichinae-free status of U.S. pork products. Eliminating the program will benefit the swine industry by reducing this confusion.

APHIS will consider all comments received on this proposal on or before May 3, 2021. This proposal is on display in the Federal Register. You may submit comments by either of the following methods:

Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to www.regulations.gov. Enter APHIS-2020-0065 in the Search field. Select the Documents tab, then select the Comment button in the list of documents.
Postal Mail/Commercial Delivery: Send your comment to Docket No. APHIS-2020-0065, Regulatory Analysis and Development, PPD, APHIS, Station 3A-03.8, 4700 River Road Unit 118, Riverdale, MD 20737-1238.

February Board meeting video posted

The February 24, 2021 Board Meeting was recorded and the video is posted on our website.

The next quarterly meeting has been scheduled for April 21, 2021 at 9:30 a.m. Agenda items will be posted on the website closer to the date of the meeting. Check back here in the April newsletter for the latest agenda.