Ohio ADDL September 2019 Newsletter

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Ohio Department of Agriculture   -   September 2019

In this issue

- ADDL Lab Director Dr. Byrum Retires

- CWD Program Standards Update

- BTV/EHD Serology Test Update

- MAP ELISA Update

- Upcoming Holiday


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Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory

8995 East Main Street

Reynoldsburg, OH 43068

Phone: (614) 728-6220

Fax: (614 ) 728-6310

Email: 

 animal@agri.ohio.gov


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Excluding the following holidays:

  • New Years Day
  • Martin Luther King Day
  • President's Day
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  • Labor Day
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  • Veteran's Day
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  • Christmas

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Dr. Bev Byrum Retires After 25 Years of Service

Dr. Yan Zhang, DVM, PhD, DACVM, Section Head of Virology and Molecular Diagnostics & Interim Lab Co-Director 

Dr. Beverly Byrum has retired from 25 years of service with the Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory and the Consumer Protection Laboratory at the Ohio Department of Agriculture – effective July 31, 2019. Dr. Byrum has been well-recognized in providing outstanding, quality service to the state of Ohio and to the state’s livestock and poultry industries. Under her leadership, the ADDL has been fully accredited by the American Association of Veterinary Laboratory Diagnosticians as a full-service laboratory across all animal species since 1996. During her tenure, the ADDL has reached many milestones - including Tier 1 status in the National Animal Health Laboratory Network (NAHLN) of USDA, a member of the FDA CVM Veterinary Laboratory Investigation and Response Network (VET-LIRN), one of 4 original whole genome sequencing laboratories for the Vet-LIRN, one of 35 laboratories in the FDA Genome Trakr Global Network, and one of 18 laboratories authorized to perform CWD immunohistochemistry testing. A nationwide search is currently underway for a new ODA Laboratory Director. During the search, Drs. Yan Zhang and Jeff Hayes are serving as Co-Interim Directors of the ADDL.


Cervid Health

New CWD Program Standards Issued by USDA

Dr. Jeff Hayes, MS, DVM, ADDL Section Head of Pathology & Interim Lab Co-Director

The USDA issued updated program standards that pertain to the Chronic Wasting Disease Herd Certification Program (HCP) Standards dated May, 2019. The updated document can be accessed here.

 

The standards consist of two parts, A and B. Part A describes the methods that are acceptable to meet the minimum requirements for interstate movement of farmed cervids. In addition to criteria for state and herd participation in the CWD HCP, requirements for registration in the program, record keeping, fencing, surveillance sampling and diagnostics are provided.

 
Part B describes the acceptable methods to meet minimum requirements in response to the detection of CWD in farmed cervid herds. Issues covered in this section include investigations, quarantine, reporting, herd plans, federal indemnity and carcass disposal. Several appendices are also included.

 
The ADDL regularly provides training on CWD sample collection and submission for immunohistochemistry testing to detect the abnormal prion protein (PrP-res), a molecular marker associated with CWD. Two sessions have been conducted thus far in 2019 for certified CWD sample collectors. An additional session is planned in late October this year for accredited veterinarians who desire to participate in the CWD Herd Certification Program on behalf of their clients. If you are interested in participating in the upcoming training session or would like more information about the Herd Certification Program, contact the ADDL at 614-728-6220.

 


Serology Updates

Changes to BLV and EHDV AGID Testing at the ADDL

Anne Parkinson, BS, ADDL Serology and Central Receiving Section Head 

Due to the closure of the vendor providing the BLV and EHDV AGID test kits, the ADDL will be making changes to our test offerings. Agar Gel Immunodiffusion (AGID) is generally used as a confirmation test for a previous ELISA antibody test POSITIVE on a serum sample. The AGID test is a more specific test than the ELISA and is an inexpensive means to verify the presence of antibody. Unfortunately, no other vendor has been identified to provide the BLV and EHDV AGID test kits, so alternative means of testing will be offered for both BLV and EHDV.

 
For BLV confirmations, one alternative will be to test an ELISA POSITIVE sample on another vendor’s ELISA test kit. This will rule out possible non-specific POSITIVES detected on the original test kit. IF a POSITIVE is detected on BOTH test kits, the ADDL will provide a PCR test for the detection of BLV nucleic acid - if requested by the client. To run the PCR test, a whole blood sample will be required.

 
EHDV confirmations will be more problematic than those for BLV due to cross reaction with BTV. The ADDL has identified an alternative AGID test kit that will detect BOTH EHDV and its close relative, BTV. In order to separate the two, the BTV specific ELISA will be run to determine if the sample is positive for BTV or EHDV. However, it is also possible that the sample is POSITIVE for both BTV and EHDV.

 
It is hoped that another vendor will step forward to provide new BLV and EHDV AGID test kits soon. The ADDL will be closely following this situation and will update our clients with new information as appropriate. Please contact the lab for additional testing recommendations or questions about these changes.


Mycobacterium paratuberculosis/Johne's Disease ELISA Approved for Bovine Milk Testing

Anne Parkinson, BS, ADDL Serology and Central Receiving Section Head 

VMRD, Inc. has announced that their Mycobacterium paratuberculosis/Johne’s Disease ELISA Antibody Test Kit has now been approved by the USDA for testing bovine milk. Validation studies by VMRD to detect antibodies in bovine milk were confirmed in test animals using culture of paired fecal samples to determine their disease status. The sensitivity was determined to be 84.8% with specificity at 82.1% - which is an improvement of 10% over a previously licensed commercial kit. This kit is now licensed by the USDA for bovine serum AND bovine milk, making it an effective tool for herd management of Mycobacterium paratuberculosis/Johne’s Disease in cattle. The ADDL is now offering this ELISA for the same fee as a serum sample at $5.00 per test.


Labor Day

Upcoming Holiday

The Ohio ADDL will be closed on Monday, September 2nd, 2019 in observance of Labor Day.

 

For additional information and resources, please visit our website.  If you need to contact us regarding an urgent matter, please use our after hours phone number: (888) 456-3405.

 

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