EIA; Handling Reactors at Livestock Markets

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

9 CFR Part 71

[Docket No. 97-099-1]

EIA; Handling Reactors at Livestock Markets

AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA.

ACTION: Proposed rule.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: We are proposing to amend the regulations pertaining to

livestock facilities under State or Federal veterinary supervision to

require that any livestock facility accepting equines classified as

reactors to equine infectious anemia must quarantine these animals at

all times at least 200 yards from all equines that are not reactors to

this disease. Currently, livestock facilities accepting reactors to

equine infectious anemia are required to quarantine the reactors that

will remain at the facility for longer than 24 hours at least 200 yards

away from all other animals. This proposed amendment would help to

prevent the interstate spread of equine infectious anemia, a

contagious, vector-borne disease affecting equines.

[[Page 3850]]

DATES: Consideration will be given only to comments received on or

before March 30, 1998.

ADDRESSES: Please send an original and three copies of your comments to

Docket No. 97-099-1, Regulatory Analysis and Development, PPD, APHIS,

suite 3C03, 4700 River Road Unit 118, Riverdale, MD 20737-1238. Please

state that your comments refer to Docket No. 97-099-1. Comments

received may be inspected at USDA, room 1141, South Building, 14th

Street and Independence Avenue SW., Washington, DC, between 8 a.m. and

4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, except holidays. Persons wishing to

inspect comments are requested to call ahead on (202) 690-2817 to

facilitate entry into the comment reading room.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. James P. Davis, Senior Staff

Veterinarian, National Animal Health Programs Staff, VS, APHIS, 4700

River Road Unit 36, Riverdale, MD 20737-1231, (301) 734-5970; or E-

mail: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

The regulations in subchapter C, ``Interstate Transportation of

Animals (Including Poultry) and Animal Products,'' of chapter I, title

9, of the Code of Federal Regulations contain provisions designed by

the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) to prevent the

dissemination of animal diseases in the United States. Part 71 of

subchapter C includes general provisions. Section 71.20 pertains to

APHIS approval of livestock facilities, which include stockyards,

livestock markets, buying stations, concentration points, or any other

premises under State or Federal veterinary supervision where livestock

are assembled. Section 71.20(a) includes an agreement that livestock

facilities must execute to obtain APHIS approval, and subparagraph (16)

of the agreement pertains to livestock facilities that accept horses.

(According to the definitions in Sec. 71.1, ``horses'' includes

``horses, asses, mules, ponies, and zebras.'' Throughout this document,

the same definition applies.) According to Sec. 71.20(a)(16), approved

livestock facilities may elect either to accept or not accept horses

that are reactors to equine infectious anemia (EIA).

EIA is a contagious, potentially fatal disease affecting horses

that is spread by infected blood coming into contact with the blood in

a healthy animal. Therefore, humans can spread EIA from horse to horse

through unsafe vaccination or blood-testing practices; naturally, the

disease is spread by insect vectors. Although, theoretically, EIA could

be spread by any type of blood-consuming insect, such as mosquitoes and

deer flies, the disease is generally spread by large horse flies. EIA

spreads when a blood-consuming insect is interrupted during a feeding

on an infected animal and then resumes feeding on an uninfected animal

while the infected blood is still on the insect's mouthparts. While

mosquitoes have finely structured mouthparts that directly penetrate

small blood vessels, the mouthparts of horse flies and deer flies

include scissorlike blades that cut and slash the horse's skin leaving

relatively large amounts of blood on the mouthparts. Research has shown

that deer flies and smaller species of horse flies are not as easily

disrupted from their bloodmeals on horses as are large horse flies. The

large flies cause painful bites that trigger a physiological response

from the horse. If disrupted by the horse while feeding, the horse fly

may then move to another horse to complete the bloodmeal.\1\

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

\1\ Information regarding research on EIA transmission may be

obtained by contacting Dr. Tim Cordes, Senior Staff Veterinarian,

Equine Programs, VS, APHIS, USDA, 4700 River Road Unit 36,

Riverdale, MD 20737-1231; (301) 734-3279; or e-mail:

[email protected].

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Regulations pertaining to the interstate movement of animals

affected with EIA are located in 9 CFR part 75. According to these

regulations, EIA reactors may be moved interstate only for immediate

slaughter, to a diagnostic or research facility, to the animal's home

farm, or to an approved stockyard for sale for immediate slaughter.

Approximately 1,600 horses in the United States test positive for EIA

each year. Currently, 40 percent of these animals move through

livestock markets on their way to slaughter.

Section 71.20(a)(16)(ii) currently specifies that approved

livestock facilities must place any EIA reactor in a quarantined pen at

least 200 yards from all non-EIA-reactor horses and other animals,

unless the EIA reactor will be moving out of the facility within 24

hours of arrival. The purpose of quarantining the EIA reactors is to

prevent EIA transmission: Because the types of flies that transmit EIA

generally remain in the immediate vicinity of the horses with which

they are associated, quarantining EIA reactors at least 200 yards away

from healthy horses is effective in preventing EIA spread. However, as

described above, the regulations currently allow an EIA reactor to be

mixed in with healthy horses if the EIA reactor will be at the

livestock facility for less than 24 hours. While in the past such

short-term mixing of healthy and infected horses was not believed to

contribute significantly to EIA spread, we now believe that allowing

healthy horses to come into close contact with EIA reactors for any

length of time could allow for infection of the healthy horses.

Therefore, to help prevent the interstate spread of EIA, we are

proposing to prohibit the mixing of healthy and infected horses at

approved livestock facilities for any period of time. Thus, we are

proposing to amend the quarantine requirement in Sec. 71.20(a)(16)(ii)

to remove the quarantine exception for EIA reactors that will be in the

approved livestock facility for less than 24 hours. EIA reactors would

need to be quarantined at least 200 yards away from non-EIA-reactor

horses at all times.

Currently, Sec. 71.20(a)(16)(ii) also requires that EIA reactors be

quarantined at least 200 yards away from all other animals in the

approved livestock facility. This requirement exists because it was

formerly believed that insect vectors could spread EIA to healthy

horses as far as 200 yards away from reactors if other animals were

located between the reactors and the healthy horses. We previously

believed that a fly could move from a reactor to feed on a nonequine

animal or animals located nearby and then move on to a healthy horse,

infecting it. However, as stated previously, we now know that EIA

transmission by insect vector occurs only when an insect is feeding on

an infected horse, is interrupted during the feeding, and then moves on

to feed on a healthy horse while the infected blood is still on the

insect's mouthparts. Horse flies are not known to feed on nonequine

animals when horses are available because these flies prefer the

relatively supple skin of horses. Moreover, the likelihood that blood

from an infected horse would still be on the insect's mouthparts after

the insect had fed on another animal is slight. For these reasons, we

now believe that the possibility of disease transmission occurring

under these circumstances is extremely unlikely. We are proposing to

amend Sec. 71.20(a)(16)(ii) to remove the words ``or other animals.''

We believe that, in the interest of preventing EIA spread, it is only

necessary to require EIA reactors to be quarantined at least 200 yards

away from all equines that are not reactors.

Executive Order 12866 and Regulatory Flexibility Act

This proposed rule has been reviewed under Executive Order 12866.

The rule has been determined to be not

[[Page 3851]]

significant for the purposes of Executive Order 12866 and, therefore,

has not been reviewed by the Office of Management and Budget.

The regulations in 9 CFR part 71 require that any horses classified

as EIA reactors and accepted by a facility for sale are to be placed in

quarantined pens at least 200 yards from all non-EIA-reactor horses or

other animals, unless moving out of the facility within 24 hours of

arrival. The proposed rule would remove the ``less-than-24-hours''

exemption: Quarantine would be required regardless of the length of

time between an EIA reactor's arrival and departure from a facility.

The proposed rule would also amend the regulations by requiring that

EIA reactors be quarantined at least 200 yards away from all equines

that are not reactors, rather than at least 200 yards away from all

other animals.

Facilities that buy and sell horses are included in the Small

Business Administration's SIC (Standard Industrial Classification)

category ``Livestock Services, Except Veterinary.'' Firms in this

category with annual receipts of less than $5 million are considered

small entities. It is likely that most, if not all, of the

approximately 200 facilities that buy and sell horses are ``small''

under this definition.

Most facilities that buy and sell horses already have quarantine

pens, in accordance with current regulations. The estimated 20 percent

that do not have quarantine pens could build or modify existing pens

for quarantine use at a relatively minor cost: APHIS estimates that, at

most, construction of a quarantine pen would cost about $1,000.

However, costs of quarantine pen construction are not attributable

to this proposed rule because quarantine, per se, is not a new

requirement. Only those facilities that accept EIA reactors and that

always move all EIA reactors within 24 hours of arrival would need to

construct or modify pens for quarantine purposes as a consequence of

this proposed rule. As no facility can always be certain of movement of

EIA reactors within 24 hours, no costs should be incurred strictly

because of this proposed rule. Moreover, by requiring all EIA reactors

at approved livestock facilities to be quarantined, the horse industry

in general would benefit from a further reduction in the risk of EIA

transmission.

Under these circumstances, the Administrator of the Animal and

Plant Health Inspection Service has determined that this action would

not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small

entities.

Executive Order 12372

This program/activity is listed in the Catalog of Federal Domestic

Assistance under No. 10.025 and is subject to Executive Order 12372,

which requires intergovernmental consultation with State and local

officials. (See 7 CFR part 3015, subpart V.)

Executive Order 12988

This proposed rule has been reviewed under Executive Order 12988,

Civil Justice Reform. If this proposed rule is adopted: (1) All State

and local laws and regulations that are in conflict with this rule will

be preempted; (2) no retroactive effect will be given to this rule; and

(3) administrative proceedings will not be required before parties may

file suit in court challenging this rule.

Paperwork Reduction Act

This proposed rule contains no information collection or

recordkeeping requirements under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995

(44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.).

List of Subjects in 9 CFR Part 71

Animal diseases, Livestock, Poultry and poultry products,

Quarantine, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements, Transportation.

Accordingly, 9 CFR part 71 is proposed to be amended as follows:

PART 71--GENERAL PROVISIONS

1. The authority citation for part 71 would continue to read as

follows:

Authority: 21 U.S.C. 111-113, 114a, 114a-1, 115-117, 120-126,

134b, and 134f; 7 CFR 2.22, 2.80, and 371.2(d).

Sec. 71.20 [AMENDED]

2. In Sec. 71.20, paragraph (a) would be amended in paragraph

(16)(ii) of the sample agreement by removing the words ``or other

animals, unless moving out of the facility within 24 hours of

arrival''.

Done in Washington, DC, this 20th day of January 1998.

Terry L. Medley,

Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.

[FR Doc. 98-1778 Filed 1-26-98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3410-34-P