Regulations – Chapter 16 – Scrapie Eradication

The Scrapie eradication program is a cooperative program between the Mississippi Board of Animal Health and APHIS and is supervised by full-time animal health veterinarians employed by the state or federal government.

(Adopted January 6, 2005)

Source: Miss. Code Ann . §69-15-3.

Positive or suspect cases of Scrapie must be immediately reported to the State Veterinarian.

Source: Miss. Code Ann . §69-15-3.

Animals required to be officially identified shall have official identification applied upon, or before, departure from the current flock of origin by the flock owner or the owner’s agent. If an animal was not identified prior to departing from its flock of birth or if its identification has been lost, then the animal must be identified upon, or before, departing from the current flock in which the animal resides and the flock of birth, or previous flock of origin, should be recorded, if known. No person shall apply a flock ID tag to an animal that has not resided in that flock. See definitions for allowable forms of identification.

1. Sheep
   1. Sheep-official identification required. Sheep required to be officially identified include:
      1. All sexually intact sheep, unless specifically excluded in these regulations;
      2. All sexually intact sheep for exhibition;
      3. All sheep over 18 months of age;
      4. All sheep residing in noncompliant flocks;
      5. All exposed, suspect, positive and high-risk sheep; and
      6. Sexually intact sheep of any age imported into Mississippi , except as noted below
         1. Sheep-official identification not required. Sheep that do not require official identification include:
            1. Sheep under 18 months of age originating from outside the state of Mississippi moving into an approved terminal feedlot, and any sheep under 18 months of age moving directly to slaughter;
            2. Wether sheep for exhibition, unless over 18 months of age; and
            3. Sheep moved for grazing or similar management reasons provided that the sheep are moved from a premises owned or leased by the owner of the sheep to another premises owned or leased by the owner of the sheep.
   2. Goats
      1. Goats-official identification required. Goats that require official identification include:
         1. Sexually intact goats that are registered, are used for exhibition, or have resided on the same premises with or been commingled with sheep, excluding limited contact;
         2. All goats residing in noncompliant flocks; and
         3. All exposed, suspect, positive and high-risk goats.
      2. Goats-official identification not required. Goats that do not require official identification include:
         1. Goats under 18 months of age entering Mississippi moving into an approved terminal feedlot, and any goats under 18 months of age moving directly to slaughter;
         2. Wether goats for exhibition;
         3. Goats (Pet/Dairy/Meat and fiber production) raised and maintained apart from sheep, not registered and not used for exhibition.
      3. NOTE: Official identification requirements for goats will become identical to those for sheep 90 days following the disclosure of a case of Scrapie in Mississippi goats that cannot be attributed to exposure to sheep.

(Adopted January 6, 2005.)

Source:  Miss. Code Ann . §69-15-3.

No person may remove or tamper with any approved means of identification required to be on sheep or goats, unless the identification must be removed for medical reasons, in which case new official identification must be applied to the animal as soon as possible and prior to commingling that could result in the loss of identity of the animal. A record documenting the change of official identification must be made.

(Adopted January 6, 2005.)

Source: Miss. Code Ann . §69-15-3.

Record keeping requirements for owners. Records on every animal that requires official ID shall be maintained for five years from the time the animal leaves the flock or dies. For animals not born in the flock, records must include the flock-of-origin number or the previous owner’s name and address, date of acquisition, a description of the animal (sheep or goat, and breed or class), and flock of birth, if known. When official ID tags are applied, it is recommended that the owner correlate official ID with production records, such as lambing dates, for all breeding animals. The owner shall maintain a record of the name and address of the market or buyer, the date, the number of animals sold, and a description of the animals (sheep or goat, and breed or class) for all animals moved from the flock.

(Adopted January 6, 2005.)

Record-keeping requirements for auction markets. Markets must collect a completed “Record of Ear Tags Applied” form from each seller presenting animals that require official identification. This form shall list existing tag numbers or the serial tag number applied at the sale. All of these documents must be made available for inspection upon request and maintained as official records for five years./26/04

(Adopted January 6, 2005.)

Record-keeping requirements for licensed sheep (livestock) dealers. The dealer must collect a completed “Record for Ear Tags Applied” form from the person from whom the dealer takes possession of the animals that require official identification. For animals that are resorted and sold, records must identify all potential buyers of any animal acquired. All records must be kept for five years and made available for inspection upon request.

(Adopted January 6, 2005.)

IAC 5/26/04

Source: Miss. Code Ann . §69-15-3.

Certificates of Veterinary Inspection (CVIs) issued by licensed accredited veterinarians shall be obtained for all sheep and goats, except those for immediate slaughter and shall comply with the following:

1. Intact sheep and goats require individual identification; must include the individual official ID numbers(s) or the flock of-origin ID number(s), the total number of animals, the purpose of the movement, the name and address of the consignor and consignee, and the points of origin and destination.
2. CVIs must additionally have the following signed owner statement: “I certify that the sexually intact animals represented on this form are not known to be Scrapie-positive, suspect, high risk, or exposed, and did not originate from a known infected, source, exposed, or noncompliant flock.”
3. Animals from “non-consistent” states may only enter if from a Scrapie Certified Flock with prior entry permit from the state veterinarian.

(Adopted January 6, 2005.)

Source: Miss. Code Ann . §69-15-3.

Official identification is required for any sexually intact sheep or goat to be exhibited. Female animals over 12 months of age should be penned separately from female animals from other flocks when practical. Female animals within 30 days of parturition, postpartum female animals, or female animals that have aborted or are pregnant and have a vaginal discharge must be kept separate from animals from other flocks so as to prohibit any direct contact. Any enclosures used to contain the female animals must be cleaned and disinfected.

(Adopted January 6, 2005.)

Source: Miss. Code Ann . §69-15-3.

Infected and source flocks will be quarantined by the Mississippi Board of Animal Health upon the determination of their status. A written flock cleanup plan shall be signed by the owner of an infected or source flock, and the requirements set out in the plan shall be adhered to until its completion. The Scrapie UM&R shall provide the guidelines outlining the investigation and disposition of such flocks.

(Adopted January 6, 2005.)

Source: Miss. Code Ann . §69-15-3.

A sexually intact animal shall not be moved from an infected or source flock, except under permit from the state veterinarian.

(Adopted January 6, 2005.)

Source: Miss. Code Ann . §69-15-3.

Definitions used in this chapter are as follows:

1. “Accredited veterinarian” means a veterinarian approved by the administrator of the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), and the state veterinarian in accordance with Part 161 of Title 9, Chapter 1 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), to perform functions required by cooperative state-federal animal disease control and eradication programs.
2. “Administrator” means the administrator of APHIS or any employee of USDA to whom the administrator has delegated authority to act on behalf of the administrator.
3. “Animal” means any sheep or goat.
4. “APHIS representative” means an individual employed by the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) in animal health activities who is authorized by the administrator to perform the functions and duties involved.
5. “Approved laboratory” means a diagnostic laboratory approved by APHIS to conduct tests for Scrapie or genotypes on one or more tissues.
6. “Area veterinarian-in-charge” or “AVIC” means the veterinary official of APHIS assigned by APHIS to supervise and perform the official animal health work of APHIS in Mississippi .
7. “Board” means the Mississippi Board of Animal Health.
8. “Breed associations and registries” means the organizations that maintain the permanent records of ancestry or pedigrees of animals (including each animal’s sire and dam), individual identification of animals, and ownership of animals.
9. “Certificate of Veterinary Inspection” or “CVI” means an official document approved by the Board and issued by a licensed accredited veterinarian at the point of origin of movement of animals.
10. “Commingle” means to group animals together in a manner that allows them to have physical contact with each other, including contact through a fence, but not limited contact. Commingling includes sharing the same section in a transportation unit where physical contact can occur.
11. “Designated Scrapie epidemiologist” or “DSE” means a state or federal veterinarian designated by the Board and APHIS to make decisions about the use and interpretation of diagnostic tests and field investigation data and the management of flocks and animals of epidemiological significance to the Scrapie program.
12. “Directly to slaughter” means movement from a farm to a place of business where animals are processed into meat, excluding movement through an auction market or livestock dealer’s place of business.
13. “Exposed animal” means any animal that has had contact with a Scrapie-positive animal or had contact with a premises where a Scrapie-positive animal has resided and for which a flock plan has not yet been completed. Exposed animals shall be evaluated by a state or federal veterinarian in concurrence with the DSE and state veterinarian and may be redesignated into a risk category according to genetic resistance and exposure and may be restricted or have restrictions removed in accordance with current USDA regulations.
14. “Exposed flock” means any flock in which:
    1. A Scrapie-positive animal was born or gave birth; or
    2. A high-risk or suspect female animal currently resides; or
    3. A high-risk or suspect animal once resided that gave birth or aborted in the flock and from which tissues were not submitted for official Scrapie testing.
15. “Flock” means a group of sheep or goats, or a mixture of both species, residing on the same premises or under common ownership or supervision on two or more premises with animal interchange between the premises. Changes in ownership of part or all of a flock do not change the identity of the flock or the regulatory requirements applicable to the flock.
16. “Flock identification number” or “flock ID number” means the unique alphanumeric premises identification number that appears on the official identification issued to a flock, that conforms with the standards for an epidemiologically distinct premises, as outlined in 9 CFR 79.1, and that is assigned by USDA and approved by the Board.
17. “Flock of origin” means the flock of birth for male animals and, for female animals, means the flock in which the animal most recently resided in which it either was born, gave birth, or resided during lambing or kidding.
18. “Flock plan” means a written flock management agreement signed by the owner of a flock, the accredited veterinarian, if one is employed by the owner, and a Board or APHIS representative in which each participant agrees to undertake actions specified in the flock plan to control the spread of Scrapie from, and eradicate Scrapie in, an infected flock or source flock or to reduce the risk of the occurrence of Scrapie in a flock that contains a high-risk or exposed animal. As part of a flock plan, the flock owner must provide the facilities and personnel needed to carry out the requirements of the flock plan. The flock plan must include the requirements in 9 CFR 54.8.
19. “Genetic susceptibility” means the animal’s likelihood, based upon the genotype of the animal, of developing Scrapie following exposure to Scrapie.
20. “High-risk animal” means:
    1. Any exposed female animal designated as genetically susceptible under current USDA guidelines;
    2. The female offspring of a Scrapie-positive female animal; or
    3. Any other exposed female animal determined by the DSE to be a potential risk.
21. “Infected flock” means any flock in which the DSE has determined that a Scrapie-positive female animal has resided, unless an epidemiological investigation conducted by the DSE shows that the animal did not give birth or abort in the flock.
22. “Interstate commerce” means trade, traffic, transportation, or other commerce between a place in a state and any place outside that state, or between points within a state but through any place outside that state.
23. “Limited contact” means incidental contact between animals away from the flock’s premises, such as at fairs, shows, exhibitions, markets, and sales; between ewes being inseminated, flushed, or implanted; or between rams at ram test or collection stations. Embryo transfer and artificial insemination equipment and surgical tools must be sterilized after each use in order for the contact to be considered limited contact. Limited contact does not include any contact with a female animal during or up to 30 days after she gave birth or aborted or when there is any visible vaginal discharge other than that associated with estrus. Limited contact does not include any activity in which uninhibited contact occurs, such as sharing an enclosure, sharing a section of a transport vehicle, or residing in other flocks for breeding or other purposes, except as allowed by Scrapie flock certification program standards.
24. “Live-animal screening test” means any test used for the diagnosis of Scrapie in a live animal, approved by APHIS, and conducted in a laboratory approved by APHIS.
25. “Mississippi Board of Animal Health”-the state agency charged with the prevention, control and eradication of contagious and infectious diseases in Mississippi .
26. “Noncompliant flock” means:
    1. Any source or infected flock whose owner declines to enter into a flock plan or postexposure management and monitoring plan (PEMMP) agreement within 60 days of the flock’s being designated as a source or infected flock;
    2. Any exposed flock whose owner fails to make animals available for testing within 60 days of notification, or as mutually agreed upon by the Board and the owner, or whose owner fails to submit required postmortem samples;
    3. Any flock whose owner or manager has misrepresented, or who employs a person who has misrepresented, the Scrapie status of an animal or has misrepresented any other information on a certificate, permit, owner statement, or other official document within the last five years;
    4. Any flock whose owner or manager has moved, or who employs a person who has moved, an animal in violation of this chapter within the last five years; or
    5. Any flock which does not meet the requirements of a flock plan or PEMMP.
27. “Official genotype test” means any test used to determine the genotype of a live or dead animal and conducted at an approved laboratory provided that the animal is officially identified and the samples used for the test are collected and shipped to the laboratory by either an accredited veterinarian or a Board or APHIS representative.
28. “Official identification” or “official ID” means identification approved by the Board and APHIS for use in the Scrapie eradication program in the state of Mississippi . For sheep, official identification consists of
    1. approved ear tags which include the flock ID number combined with an individual animal number;
    2. approved unique, alphanumeric serial-numbered ear tags; or
    3. ear tags approved for use with the Scrapie flock certification program. For goats, official identification consists of any method of identification approved by the USDA, as outlined in 9 CFR 79.2.
29. “Official test” means any test used for the diagnosis of Scrapie in a live or dead animal, approved by APHIS for that use, and conducted at an approved laboratory.
30. “Owner” means a person, partnership, company, corporation, or any other legal entity which has legal or rightful title to animals.
31. “Owner/seller statement form” means a written document to be completed by the owner or seller of animals that require official identification and includes the owner’s/seller’s name, address, and telephone number; date of transaction; the flock identification number; the number of animals involved; a statement indicating that the animals that require official identification have been officially identified and that the owner/seller will maintain records as to the origin of the individual animals for five years; and a signed owner statement.
32. “Owner statement” means a statement signed by the owner certifying that the sexually intact animals are not scrapie-positive, suspect, high-risk, or exposed and that they did not originate from an infected source, exposed, or noncompliant flock.
33. “Permit” means an official document that has been issued by an APHIS or Board representative or an authorized accredited veterinarian and allows the interstate movement of animals under quarantine. A seal may be required by the state veterinarian or AVIC.
34. “Postexposure management and monitoring plan” or “PEMMP” means a written agreement signed by the owner of a flock, an accredited veterinarian, if one is employed by the owner, and a Board or APHIS representative in which each participant agrees to undertake actions specified in the agreement to reduce the risk of the occurrence of scrapie and to monitor for the occurrence of scrapie in the flock for at least five years after the last high-risk or scrapie-positive animal is removed from the flock or after the last exposure of the flock to a scrapie-positive animal, unless the monitoring time is otherwise specified by a Board or APHIS representative. As part of a postexposure management and monitoring plan, the flock owner must provide the facilities and personnel needed to carry out the requirements of the plan. The plan must include the requirements in 9 CFR 54.8.
35. “Premises” means the ground, area, buildings, and equipment occupied by one or more flocks of animals.
36. “Quarantine” means an imposed restriction prohibiting movement of animals to any location without specific written permits.
37. “Scrapie” means a nonfebrile, transmissible, insidious degenerative disease affecting the central nervous system of sheep and goats. “Scrapie eradication program” or “program” means the cooperative state-federal-industry program administered by APHIS and states to control and eradicate scrapie.
38. “Scrapie flock certification program” or “SFCP” means a voluntary state-federal-industry cooperative program established and maintained to reduce the occurrence and spread of scrapie, to identify flocks that have been free of evidence of scrapie over specified time periods, and to contribute to the eventual eradication of scrapie. This program was formerly known as the voluntary scrapie flock certification program.
39. “Scrapie-positive animal” or “positive animal” means an animal for which a diagnosis of scrapie has been made by an approved laboratory through one of the following methods:
    1. Histopathological examination of central nervous system (CNS) tissues from the animal for characteristic microscopic lesions of scrapie;
    2. The use of protease-resistant protein analysis methods, including but not limited to immunohistochemistry or western blotting, on CNS or peripheral tissue samples from a live or a dead animal for which a given method has been approved by the administrator for use on that tissue;
    3. Bioassay;
    4. Scrapie-associated fibrils (SAF) detected by electron microscopy; or
    5. Any other test method approved by the administrator in accordance with 9 CFR 54.10.
40. “Source flock” means a flock in which a Board or APHIS representative has determined that at least one animal was born that was diagnosed as a scrapie-positive animal at an age of 72 months or less.
41. “State animal health official” means an individual employed by the Board in animal health activities and authorized by the Board to perform the functions involved.
42. State Veterinarian” means the chief animal health official and administrator of the Board of Animal Health in the State of Mississippi .
43. “Suspect animal” means:
    1. A sheep or goat that exhibits any of the following possible signs of scrapie and that has been examined by an accredited veterinarian or a Board or APHIS representative. Possible signs of scrapie include: weight loss despite retention of appetite; behavioral abnormalities; pruritus (itching); wool pulling; biting at legs or side; lip smacking; motor abnormalities such as incoordination, highstepping gait of forelimbs, bunny hop movement of rear legs, or swaying of back end; increased sensitivity to noise and sudden movement; tremor, star gazing, head pressing, recumbency, or other signs of neurological disease or chronic wasting;
    2. A sheep or goat that has tested positive for scrapie or for the protease-resistant protein associated with scrapie on a live-animal screening test, or any other official test, unless the animal is designated as a scrapie-positive animal; or
    3. A sheep or goat that has tested inconclusive or suggestive of scrapie on an official test for scrapie.
44. “Trace” means all actions required to identify the flock of origin or flock of destination of an animal.
45. “Unofficial test” means any test used for the diagnosis of scrapie or for the detection of the protease-resistant protein associated with scrapie in a live or dead animal but that either has not been approved by APHIS or was not conducted at an approved diagnostic laboratory.

(Adopted January 6, 2005.)

Source: Miss. Code Ann . §69-15-3.