News Update

News Update
Aug. 22, 2006

USAIO Signs RFID Manufacturers

The United States Animal Identification Organization Inc. (USAIO) board of directors announced today it has completed agreements with two manufacturers of ISO (International Organization for Standardization) radio frequency identification (RFID) devices in the United States: Allflex USA of Dallas, Texas, and Destron Fearing (Digital Angel) of Minneapolis, Minn.

According to the USAIO, the agreements advance the organization’s objective of funding a national animal movement database in a manner that will minimize cost to industry participants. Under this funding plan, producers’ share of the system costs will be rolled into the purchase price of the ear tag. The tag creates a lifetime record on the animal, with the ability to add information to this record at no additional cost, an organization release said.

“USAIO is committed to funding the system in such a way as to spread the cost across all segments of the industry,” Charles Miller, USAIO board chairman, says. “We continue to work on funding mechanisms that will draw support for the animal movement database from every sector that will benefit from it.”

The USAIO database has completed beta testing and is now being ramped up in the first of three implementation phases.

VS confirmed in Wyoming

The National Veterinary Services Laboratories (NVSL) in Ames, Iowa, has confirmed vesicular stomatitis (VS) in a 10-year-old horse on a premises in Natrona County, Wyo., near Casper, Wyo. According to the Texas Animal Health Commission (TAHC), this is the first confirmed case of VS in the United States in 2006; the last case of VS was confirmed in late 2005.

The clinically ill horse was positive for antibodies to vesicular stomatitis New Jersey (VS-NJ) virus on the competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (cELISA) and was also positive on virus isolation for VS-NJ virus. The VS compatible clinical signs and presence of VS-NJ virus meet the definition to classify this horse as the index case for the Nation in 2006. There are an additional 29 clinically normal horses and 25 clinically normal cattle also on the premises.

The affected horse was initially examined as part of a routine physical exam by a private veterinary practitioner on Aug. 12, 2006. The next day, the owner of the horse noticed that the horse had a swollen muzzle and contacted the veterinarian who came back to the premises to re-examine the animal. During the re-examination, the practitioner noticed oral lesions consistent with VS and immediately contacted Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) Veterinary Services in Wyoming. A foreign animal disease investigation was initiated that same day; appropriate samples were collected and submitted to NVSL.

The affected premises is currently under quarantine. Additional control measures include isolating the horse to ensure that water troughs and feed buckets are not being shared with other susceptible animals, and increasing insect control measures.

VS is a viral disease that primarily affects horses, cattle and swine. In affected livestock, VS causes blisterlike lesions to form in the mouth and on the dental pad, tongue, lips, nostrils, hooves and teats. These blisters swell and break, leaving raw tissue that is so painful that infected animals generally refuse to eat and drink, and show signs of lameness.

The Wyoming Department of Agriculture is beginning a public and veterinary practitioner information and education campaign regarding VS. APHIS Veterinary Services and the Wyoming Department of Agriculture will continue to monitor the situation and conduct response activities in an effort to minimize trade restrictions.

Livestock Outlook Released

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Economic Research Service (ERS) has released its regular livestock, dairy and poultry outlook. Timely livestock, dairy, and poultry information, focusing on current and forecast production, price and trade statistics for each of the sectors is available at www.ers.usda.gov/Publications/LDP.

Printed copies can be purchased from the National Technical Information Service (NTIS) by calling 1-800-999-6779 (specify SUB-LDPM-4042).

— compiled by Crystal Albers, associate editor, Angus Productions Inc.