The latest in the Beltrami County CWD investigation plus biosecurity at the fair

Minnesota Board of Animal Health sent this bulletin at 08/12/2021 10:47 AM CDT

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board of animal health

Animal Bytes

August 2021

CWD investigation update on Beltrami County farm and other exposed herds

CWD investigation diagram

*Click on the diagram to open a larger version.

The Board last reported an update on the CWD investigation into the Beltrami County CWD-positive farm in May 2021. Since that announcement the Board has been busy with its partners at the USDA and the DNR to continue investigating disease spread and risk and address the known exposures. Part of the investigation included identifying herds with connections to the CWD-positive Beltrami County farm. These herds had CWD exposed animals in their herds or animals that had resided with a CWD positive animal within the last five years. The Board connected producers from those herds with the USDA to get all CWD exposed animals appraised for indemnity. The USDA agreed to pay for indemnity for 8 of 9 herds with exposed animals. Of the approved herds, 6 of 8 agreed to indemnity and 31 animals were depopulated and sampled. CWD was not detected in any of the 31 samples or exposed animals.

Two of the herds have not yet accepted indemnity from the USDA and they must remain quarantined if they chose not to put down the animals and have them tested for CWD. Both of those farms could be released from quarantine in 2022.

The DNR recently completed a fence around the county-owned land near the Beltrami County farm where the owner illegally dumped deer carcasses. The fence is meant to keep wild deer out of the area because of the CWD risk of the dumped carcasses on the landscape.

The Board is pursuing compliance actions against the owner of the farm for violations and that process is currently being litigated.

Keep reading...

Biosecurity at county fairs

Biosecurity for exhibitors flyer

Being back at county fairs is a great feeling and we're glad to welcome back all the 4H, FFA and other livestock exhibitors! Since we've had a year off from the routine of taking animals to the fair, it's important to take a moment to brush up on biosecurity and brush off your boots. There are three important areas we talk about when practicing good biosecurity at a fair or other exhibition; at the fair, before returning home from the fair, and once you get home. These areas mark moments when there's an opportunity for disease to spread from one place to another. Our goal is to reduce that risk by giving exhibitors the information you need to keep animals healthy.

You can click on the image of the checklist to view a bigger version and download it.

African Swine Fever (ASF) in the Dominican Republic

The USDA recently announced routine surveillance sampling of pigs in the Dominican Republic were positive for ASF.

The Board is focused on protecting Minnesota's swine population from this disease and has recommendations and resources available to reduce the risk of this and other diseases entering swine herds.

The announcement of the Dominican Republic ASF detection led to some questions and misconceptions here in Minnesota. Here are three issues we want to clarify:

  1. Airport food waste is incinerated on site and none of Minnesota's licensed garbage feeders pickup food from the airport.
  2. ASF does not affect human health and cannot be transmitted from pigs to humans.
  3. Pork is safe to eat.

Temporary ban: Caribbean countries

As of August 2021 the Board of Animal Health has issued a temporary ban on dogs or cats imported into Minnesota from the following countries in the Caribbean due to the risk of potentially spreading ASF. While there is no direct evidence that dogs and cats are biological carriers of ASF, there is concern these animals, their carriers, and transport-associated materials are capable of carrying and spreading the disease. Ticks or other external parasites may be imported on animals also pose a concern for disease spread. Countries temporarily banned:

  • Antigua and Barbuda
  • Aruba
  • Bahamas
  • Barbados
  • Belize
  • Curacao
  • Dominica
  • Dominican Republic
  • Grenada
  • Guyana
  • Haiti
  • Jamaica
  • Saint Lucia
  • Sint Maarten
  • St. Kitts and Nevis
  • St. Vincent and the Grenadines
  • Suriname
  • Trinidad and Tobago

Review other import regulations for dogs and cats on our website.

September Board Meeting

The next quarterly meeting of the Board of Animal Health will be held Wednesday, September 15, 2021.

Join the meeting remotely on Microsoft Teams.

Or join by phone at 763-317-4323 and enter ID: 237 113 861#

Agenda Items*

Start time 9:30 a.m.

Dean Compart
Call meeting to order
Approval of Minutes
Approval of Agenda

Beth Thompson
Board of Animal Health Update

Peder Kjeseth
Legislative Update

Stephan Schaefbauer
USDA Update

Laura Molgaard
College of Veterinary Medicine Update

Jerry Torrison
Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory Update

Annie Balghiti, Linda Glaser
Farmed Cervidae Rule Making

Joni Scheftel
MDH Update

Linda Glaser
CWD Investigation Update

African Swine Fever Update
Brian Hoefs

PRRS Virus Study
Scott Dee

H6N1 LPAI Update
Dale Lauer

*Agenda subject to change prior to meeting.