Iowa senator calls for investigation of USDA's animal ID plan

Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) Tuesday asked the Government Accountability Office (GAO) for an investigation of USDA's plans for the National Animal Identification System (NAIS). After two years, USDA has yet to implement an animal ID program and has failed to inform producers and state governments about the costs the system will impose on them, Senator Harkin said in a release. The goal of the NAIS is rapid animal traceback that can help officials contain and eradicate animal diseases livestock and poultry. Such a system could help in fighting U.S. outbreaks of avian flu, Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) and bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) for example. "After two years of discussions, USDA has no clear plan for moving forward with a workable system," Senator Harkin said. "Producers are getting upset that they still don't know how much the system will cost them and who will run it," Senator Harkin said....

Duck virus tests taking longer than expected

It's proving harder than anticipated to type the avian flu viruses wild ducks sampled in Canada were carrying because a number were co-infected with several strains, creating a viral "soup" that is difficult to separate down to its basic ingredients, government officials have admitted. They say, however, that it appears that none of the viruses are highly pathogenic, a finding that would support the suggestion none of the birds were carrying the worrisome Asian H5N1 flu virus, which is a so-called high path virus. "We can't say we don't have an H5N1," said Dr. Jim Clark, acting director of the animal health and production program for the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, the lead government agency on this work. "That's a possibility. But we can say with reasonable certainty that H5N1, if it is there, it's not the high path Asiatic subtype that's going on in Southeast Asia."....