ANIMALNET SEPTEMBER 16, 2003 -- II

Chicken disease
Transgenic cows programme to target rare lysosomal disease
South Dakota elk ranchers recover from effect of chronic wasting disease
Epizootic hemorrhagic fever, cervid - USA (South Dakota)
World Parks Congress focuses on wildlife health issues
Pa agriculture secretary urges farmers to prepare for worst with `Isabel;'
major hurricane tracking toward Pennsylvania
Ensuring the safety of animal feed: a blueprint for the future


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CHICKEN DISEASE
Sept. 16/003
AP
WASHINGTON -- The U.S. Agriculture Department was cited as lifting the
yearlong quarantine on California chickens Tuesday after concluding the
state had eradicated a poultry disease.
 The story explains that chicken and egg farms in the state were placed
under quarantine last year after animal health officials found an outbreak
of Exotic Newcastle, a bird disease that infected several egg-laying flocks.
It paralyzes and kills all species of birds, but isn't a threat to humans.
   The department's decision Tuesday means quarantines ended in portions of
Kern, Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernadino and Ventura counties.
   On the Net:
   Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service: http://www.aphis.usda.gov



TRANSGENIC COWS PROGRAMME TO TARGET RARE LYSOSOMAL DISEASE
September 16, 2003
The New Zealand Organisation For Rare Disorders (NZORD) Press Release
http://www.nzord.org.nz/
AgResearch's transgenic cows programme will start work to produce a
therapeutic protein to treat the rare lysosomal storage disease Pompe
disease, as soon as issues like intellectual property are sorted out. Their
decision has won praise from the patient advocacy group, Lysosomal Diseases
New Zealand, but concern has already been expressed by LDNZ that continued
opposition from MadGE and other anti-GE groups could add further
impediments.
Paul Atkinson, Science General Manager at AgResearch announced the addition
of Pompe to their target list, at a conference of families and professionals
convened in Auckland over the past weekend by LDNZ. The protein for Pompe
disease will be one of four to be developed in the project recently approved
by ERMA. The conference included one person affected by Pompe disease, among
the more than 90 family members and professionals attending LDNZ's first
ever conference.
Pompe disease results from an enzyme deficiency in the cells of the patient
and this causes lysosomal storage of Glycogen in the muscles of affected
patients.
"The consequences of this are very severe and newborn babies with this
disease die from respiratory problems or heart failure before reaching one
year old", said John Forman, Chairperson of LDNZ and Executive Director of
NZORD, the New Zealand Organisation for Rare Disorders.
"Pompe also has serious impacts on the health of children with the juvenile
form and they are often respirator and wheelchair dependent in their teenage
years.  Adults have their mobility impaired by the disease and usually need
CPAP respirator assistance when sleeping", said Mr Forman, "but treatment of
this complex disease is now possible and a completely normal life should
occur for future patients, thanks to advances in genetic modification
technology".
The first trial of a genetically modified enzyme replacement therapy
occurred in Holland a few years ago when protein was extracted from the milk
of transgenic rabbits and successfully treated several small babies with
Pompe disease.  "This was the important proof of principle that was needed,
and evidence that genetic modification was a necessary part of the process
to produce the complex enzyme.
The storage was cleared from the muscles and a seriously ill and disabled
child returned to normal health", said Mr Forman.
Normal chemical drug production could not make a suitable therapeutic drug,
but the transgenic rabbit project had limitations in providing enough
protein to treat larger numbers of patients. The company that is continuing
the production effort, Genzyme Corporation, is producing the enzyme
replacement therapy by large scale fermentation of genetically modified
Chinese Hamster Ovary cell lines in huge industrial plants, but this method
has its own limitations. It has environmental considerations regarding
disposal of large quantities of culture medium used in the production
process, and it is also extremely expensive.
"Transgenics offers good therapeutic efficiency but much better cost
effectiveness, and it is vital that both these issues are factored in", said
Mr Forman. "We already have a scenario where another of the complex
Lysosomal proteins has just now been made available for the treatment of
Fabry disease, but the CHO cell production process means it is extremely
expensive at about $250,000 per patient per year.
"Transgenic cows offer one of the best prospects for getting the right
protein structures in the enzyme to make them effective in treating the
patient, and at the same time producing them at a cost that should ensure
availability to all patients in the world", said Mr Forman.
LDNZ hope that groups like MadGE will not make any further attempts to
impede the AgResearch transgenic cows programme. "I wish they could
understand that without these innovative experiments in production methods,
effective and affordable treatments will not be available to patients", said
Mr Forman. "If they do manage to stop the project, it will mean that instead
of Pompe disease killing newborn babies and affected children and adults in
the future, it will be the actions of ill-informed opponents like MadGE that
will be responsible for the deaths by the halt they put on the technology".
http://www.nzord.org.nz/



SOUTH DAKOTA ELK RANCHERS RECOVER FROM EFFECT OF CHRONIC WASTING DISEASE
September 15, 2003
Knight-Ridder Tribune
Russ Keen, American News, Aberdeen, S.D.
By American News Writer
Nearly six years have, according to this story, passed since Chronic Wasting
Disease was first found in farm-raised elk in South Dakota.
The story says that the discovery in November 1997 was also the first time
CWD appeared in farm-raised elk anywhere in the nation, though the illness
had been found earlier in wild elk in Wyoming and Colorado.
Sam Holland, state veterinarian, was cited as saying that now, "for farmed
elk and deer in South Dakota, we have it under control."  It has been about
a year since any farm elk herd has been destroyed in the state. "That gives
us a degree of comfort."
Elk producers are having a tough go of it, Holland said, "despite the fact
that great efforts have been made to eliminate the disease and to provide
assurance that South Dakota herds don't have it. Part of the problem is that
other states were slow to enact similar control programs."



EPIZOOTIC HEMORRHAGIC FEVER, CERVID - USA (SOUTH DAKOTA)
September 16, 2003
A ProMED-mail post
<http://www.promedmail.org>
Date:    14 Sep 2003
From:    ProMED-mail <promed@promedmail.org>
Source:    Aberdeen News [edited]
<http:    //www.aberdeennews.com/mld/aberdeennews/news/6772006.htm>
Disease affects deer in Harding County, South Dakota
A common disease is killing white-tailed deer in part of Harding County in
the northwest corner of South Dakota (United States), the Game, Fish and
Parks Department (GF&P) said.
Epizootic hemorrhagic disease (EHD) is prevalent in late-summer periods of
high temperatures and drought. It is often fatal to deer and is not a health
risk to humans, the department said.
EHD has been most significant in hunting unit 335B in Harding County.
Hunters planning to apply for a leftover license in that area might want to
apply for a leftover license in a different unit, the GF&P said.
ProMED-mail
<promed@promedmail.org>
 [Epizootic hemorrhagic disease (EHD) is an acute, infectious, often fatal
viral disease of some wild ruminants. This malady, characterized by
extensive hemorrhages, has been responsible for significant epizootics in
deer in the northern United States and southern Canada. A similar
hemorrhagic disease called bluetongue also occurs in wild ruminants. The 2
diseases are antigenically different, although there are similar clinical
signs. The first occurrence and subsequent identification of EHD occurred in
1955, when several hundred white-tailed deer (_Odocoileus virginianus_)
succumbed in both New Jersey and in Michigan. It was considered a new
disease of deer, and the name "epizootic hemorrhagic disease" was suggested
to describe its main clinical and pathological features. Since these initial
confirmed outbreaks of EHD, documented epizootics have occurred in
white-tailed deer in South Dakota, North Dakota, Wyoming, and Alberta,
Canada. Suspected EHD outbreaks have occurred in Missouri, Washington,
Nebraska, Iowa, and British Columbia.
South Dakota, Missouri, and Nebraska have experienced periodic outbreaks of
EHD, and the disease might be considered enzootic in these areas. Since the
initial 1955 outbreak, this malady has occurred primarily among white-tailed
deer, although occasionally mule deer (_O. hemionus_) and pronghorn antelope
(_Antilocapra americana_) have succumbed. The mode of transmission of EHD in
nature is via a Culicoides biting fly or gnat.  Culicoides variipennis is
the most commonly incriminated vector in North America. A common observation
in outbreaks involving large numbers of deer > (as in Michigan, New Jersey,
and Alberta) is that they are single epizootics that do not recur. Die-offs
involving small numbers of deer (as experienced in South Dakota and
Nebraska) occur almost annually, and the disease appears to be enzootic in
these areas. All documented outbreaks of EHD have occurred during late
summer and early fall (August-October) and have ceased abruptly with the
onset of frost.
Clinical signs of EHD and bluetongue are similar. White-tailed deer develop
signs of illness about 7 days after exposure. A constant characteristic of
the disease is its sudden onset. Deer initially lose their appetite and fear
of humans, grow progressively weaker, often salivate excessively, develop a
rapid pulse and respiration rate, and finally become unconscious.
Hemorrhage and lack of oxygen in the blood result in a blue appearance of
the oral mucosa, hence the name "bluetongue".
Between 8 and 36 hours following the onset of observable signs, deer pass
into a shock-like state, become prostrate, and die. The gross and
histological lesions of EHD are characterized by extensive hemorrhage,
ranging from pin-point to massive in size, and involve different tissues and
organs in individual animals. No organs appear to be exempt from hemorrhage,
with the most regularly involved being the heart, liver, spleen, kidney,
lung, and intestinal tract. Extensive hemorrhaging is the result of
interference with the blood-clotting mechanism together with degeneration of
blood vessel walls. Because of its very high mortality rate, EHD can have a
significant effect upon the deer population in a given area, reducing
numbers drastically. Hemorrhagic disease can be transmitted to other wild
ruminants. The EHD virus can infect domestic animals but rarely causes
disease. In all probability the virus does not infect humans.  Presently
there is no evidence that it does cross into humans.
(Portions extracted from Roselake Wildlife Disease Laboratory site at:
<http://www.dnr.state.mi.us/wildlife/Division/RoseLake/Publications/Disease_
Ma
nual/ehd.html>.
 - Mod.TG]



WORLD PARKS CONGRESS FOCUSES ON WILDLIFE HEALTH ISSUES
September 15, 2003
Wildlife Conservation Society
Held once every 10 years, this year¹s World Parks Congress will tackle key
issues that affect both conservation and development‹including the movement
of diseases between wildlife, humans and their livestock. In response to
this growing problem, the New York-based Wildlife Conservation Society
(WCS), the World Conservation Union (IUCN) and other organizations have
launched a new program designed to prevent and minimize the ecological and
economic damage introduced diseases can cause.
³As the list of diseases affecting domestic animals and people that
originate in the wild grows longer, we begin to realize that a more holistic
approach is needed to manage the interface between wildlife, livestock and
humans,² said Dr. William Karesh, head of WCS¹s Field Veterinary Program and
co-chair of the Veterinary Specialist Group of the World Conservation Union
(IUCN), the sponsor of the World Parks Congress. ³Traditionally, disease is
dealt with only after there is a crisis, then you call in vets. But dealing
with a crisis is brutally expensive and usually the most difficult way to
approach a problem. An ounce of prevention is truly worth a pound of cure.²
Beginning with a two-day forum that concluded today at the congress, the
AHEAD program (Animal Health for the Environment and Development) brought
more than 60 veterinarians, wildlife managers and other experts from around
the world to explore the health-related challenges facing conservation and
development efforts. Specifically, forum participants focused on several
themes of critical importance to livestock and wildlife management, such as
competition for grazing and water, disease transmission, local and global
food security and nutrition, and other sources of conflict related to
land-use planning and resource constraints.
Wildlife diseases such as brucellosis and chronic wasting disease (CWD)
cause millions of dollars in damage annually in both Canada and the United
States. In South Africa, tuberculosis continues to be a management challenge
in Kruger National Park.
The primary goal for AHEAD organizers is establishing a multidisciplinary
model involving both development agencies and environmental organizations
that combines the traditionally separate fields of conservation and health.
³The health of communities throughout the world is inextricably linked to
the health of the natural resources around them, yet mainstream conservation
often fails to integrate this into its thinking,² said Dr. Steve Osofsky,
WCS¹s senior policy advisor for Wildlife Health. ³Health and conservation
professionals need to take seats at the same table. AHEAD is issuing the
invitations.²


PA AGRICULTURE SECRETARY URGES FARMERS TO PREPARE FOR WORST WITH `ISABEL;'
MAJOR HURRICANE TRACKING TOWARD PENNSYLVANIA
September 16, 2003
>From a press release
HARRISBURG, Pa. -- Pennsylvania Agriculture Secretary Dennis C Wolff today
urged Pennsylvania farmers and all animal owners to take precautions to
minimize their risks in the face of Hurricane Isabel.
"Strong hurricane winds and heavy rains can damage farm buildings and
endanger livestock and other animals," Secretary Wolff said.  "Farmers can
help to protect themselves by securing barn doors and windows as well as
calf hutches and kennels.  They should also make sure their power generators
are operational.
"Equipment such as hay and forage wagons should be kept indoors or otherwise
secured to avoid running away, and farmers should be prepared to move
livestock and other animals to a safe area in case of flooding."
Secretary Wolff said the department has been working with and is in constant
communication with the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency to prepare
for any weather-related issues.
In addition to the threat of being injured from windblown objects, animals
can drown if they become trapped in flooded buildings or in low-lying
pasture areas.  Stored feed should be moved to a safe area or stored in
waterproof containers to avoid the risk of mold forming on wet feed.
Pesticides also should be moved to a dry area or stored in waterproof
containers to avoid possible contamination of ground water and animal feed.
Secretary Wolff also said that when heavy rain falls on manure storage pits
that are already at or near capacity, it can cause them to overflow. Wolff
urged farmers to check their manure storage pits.  If they are within 18
inches of capacity for a USDA Natural Resources Conservation
Service-designed structure, Secretary Wolff recommends hauling manure before
the storm hits and taking steps to ensure that surface water is diverted
from the manure pit.
"Farmers are particularly vulnerable to the forces of nature," said Wolff.
"When faced with a storm of this magnitude, efforts must be spent on
prevention to minimize risks."



ENSURING THE SAFETY OF ANIMAL FEED: A BLUEPRINT FOR THE FUTURE
December 12, 2003
Foundation Food Micro & Innovation
The Program and Booking information can be viewed at the following website:
http://www.foodmicro.nl/
International conference Scientific topics:
in situ deactivation of toxic substances; application of Critical Control
Points (CCPs) in manufacturing processes; the use of predictive modelling
and risk assessment; technological advances  in product  decontamination;
development of internationally acceptable feed safety criteria;
environmental aspects of feed production; risk communication.
*
Recreation and Congress Hotel Ter Elst
Ter Elststraat 310
B 2650 Edegem, Belgium (near Antwerp)
Tel: + 32 3 450 9000   www.terelst.be
Chair: Prof. Dr. Jan van Hoof, Ghent University Advisory Board:
Chair: Prof. Dr. Ir. Martin Tielen (Nevedi)
Dr. Jos Goebbels (Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority)
Drs. Johan den Hartog,  (Commodity Board for Animal Feed)
Dr. Roelof Raterink (Provimi)
Prof. Jan van Hoof, (Ghent University)
Dr Jan Meijer,  (Nutreco)
Prof. Geoffrey Mead,  (University of London)
Dr. Ernst Paardekooper (former vice-director TNO)
*
Ensuring the safety of animal feed
Background information
For several years, society has been confronted with various feed-related
crises. These have resulted not only in economic losses and harm to animals
but also a decrease of consumer confidence in safe feed production. The
problems have also attracted political attention. For example, the Dutch
Parliament is carrying out a public inquiry and the European Commission is
challenging the feed industry to take initiatives to improve the
(undesirable) situation. If the feed industry is not able to improve its
practices significantly, it is likely that the European Commission will take
the lead. In that case, it is to be expected that considerable demands will
be made as far as feed safety objectives are concerned. It is obvious that
these demands will be equal to, or even more stringent than the current
safety objectives for human food. The main reason is that, as a precaution,
no risk will be taken that food products of animal origin could become
tainted by contaminants present in animal feed. However, experience to date
suggests that more regulation in itself will not be sufficient to convince
environmental pressure groups and a sceptical public that controls measures
are adequate.
The above developments have raised the  profile of safe feed production. Not
surprisingly, the recent feed problems have had a very strong negative
impact. To improve the situation, attention must be paid to developing a
more controllable means of production covering aspects such as animal health
and welfare, environmental protection and concerns about stock breeding.
Improvements will depend upon a variety of scientific aspects including:
technological advances  in the  decontamination of raw materials and
development of new processes that result in less carry-over of (myco-)toxins
and microbiological contaminants to finished feed;
greater understanding of the metabolic activities in animals providing in
situ deactivation of toxic substances that can accumulate in the body,
thereby reducing hazards in human food products;
consequences of applying Critical Control Points (CCPs) in manufacturing
processes on the safety of animal feed; these are not yet well understood.
risk analysis, which is only partly developed in this area, especially, with
regard to risk communication;
predictive modelling, which has been successful in the food industry in
controlling chemical and microbial hazards, but is not yet applied to feed
production;
development of internationally acceptable feed safety criteria.
Objectives of the symposium
The primary objective of the symposium is to instigate the scientific
development of a conceptual model for the production of safe animal feed.
The model will aim to provide a firm basis for the feed supply chain, taking
account of its implications for the safety of human food and public
perceptions of safety requirements. It will pave the way for the
introduction of GMP and HACCP and the future development of new legislation.
The meeting will seek to identify those aspects of feed production that need
to be further developed, so that feed can be produced to the highest
standards in relation to product safety, animal welfare and environmental
protection.
The target audience comprises:
all those involved directly in the production of feed;
senior managers and directors of feed manufacturers and companies producing
foods of animal origin;
legislative authorities;
trade bodies representing the feed industry;
representatives of farming organisations and food commodity boards;
scientists and other academics involved in feed and food safety issues;
any other individual interested  in the production of safe animal feed.


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