American Bison - Buffalo Field Campaign

Chapter 5 Reportable or Notifiable Diseases
Throughout their range, bison host numerous pathogens and
parasites, many of which also occur in domestic cattle (see
reviews: Berezowski 2002; Tessaro 1989; Reynolds et al. 2003).
In this review, we consider only infective organisms that may
negatively affect bison populations, or their conservation,
either through direct pathobiological effects, or indirectly as a
consequence of management interventions. Livestock diseases
that restrict trade or pose a risk to human health may be
“reportable” or “notifiable” under federal and provincial/state
legislation.
In Canada, reportable and immediately notifiable diseases are
listed nationally under the authority of the Health of Animals Act
and Regulations (http://laws.justice.gc.ca/en/H-3.3/, accessed
15 April 2009) and under provincial statutes and legislation. The
Canadian Health of Animals Act requires owners and anyone
caring for animals, or having control over animals, to immediately
notify the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) when they
suspect or confirm the presence of a disease prescribed in the
Reportable Diseases Regulations. The CFIA reacts by either
controlling or eradicating the disease based upon a programme
agreed to by stakeholders (CFIA 2001).
In the U.S., the U.S. Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant
Health Inspection Service (APHIS) conducts federal eradication
programmes for several reportable livestock diseases and
is involved in a negotiated multi-jurisdictional brucellosis
management programme for bison in Yellowstone National Park
(YNP) (APHIS, USDA 2007; NPS-USDOI 2000). In both countries,
Federal legislation supersedes state and provincial disease
control legislation. In the U.S. and Canada there are specific
state and provincial regulations that require testing for, and
reporting of, various diseases. These regulations may be more
extensive than federal requirements, but typically include those
diseases regulated by the federal animal health authorities.
Much like the U.S and Canada, Mexico has federal animal
disease regulations that are administered by the Secretary of
Agriculture, Livestock Production, Rural Development, Fishery
and Food (SAGARPA). Disease surveillance programmes and
zoosanitary requirements, including disease reporting, are
established by federal law to protect trade in Mexico and are
administered by a decentralised branch of SAGARPA titled the
National Service of Health, Safety, and Agricultural Food Quality
(SENASICA, see http://www.senasica.gob.mx). SAGARPA
Lead Authors: Keith Aune and C. Cormack Gates
Contributors: Brett T. Elkin, Martin Hugh-Jones, Damien O. Joly, and John Nishi.
also negotiates bi-lateral disease management agreements for
important livestock diseases along the U.S. border, including
bovine tuberculosis, brucellosis, and screwworm.
In addition to federal, state and provincial regulatory agencies
there is an international organisation that influences animal
disease reporting in North America. The World Organization
for Animal Health (OIE) is an intergovernmental organisation
created by international agreement in 1924. In 2008 the OIE had
172 member countries. Every member country is committed to
declaring the animal diseases it may detect in its territory. The
OIE disseminates this information to help member countries
to protect themselves from the spread of disease across
international boundaries. The OIE produces sanitary codes with
rules that must be observed by member countries to prevent
the spread of significant diseases around the world. OIE has
established Sanitary Codes for Terrestrial Animals, and the
Manual for Diagnostic and Vaccine Tests for Terrestrial Animals,
which may influence the international movement of bison (http://
www.oie.int/eng/normes/mcode/en_sommaire.htm). All three
countries in North America are members of OIE.
Depending on the nature of the disease, management of
reportable diseases in captive or commercial herds in North
America may involve development and application of uniform
protocols to reduce disease prevalence, zoning of management
areas by disease status, or imposition of procedures for disease
eradication, including test and slaughter, or depopulation. Where
reportable diseases are detected, federal, state or provincial
legislation affects management of wild bison populations.
Interventions may include limiting the geographic distribution of
an infected wild population, (e.g., removals at park boundaries
to reduce the risk of the disease spreading to adjacent livestock
population), quarantine, treatment, or eradication of infected
captive conservation breeding herds, or limiting inter-population
or inter-jurisdictional transport of bison. Public perception
of bison as specific, or non-specific, carriers of diseases
is a potential barrier to re-establishing conservation herds,
particularly in regions where conventional livestock grazing
occurs. National and state/provincial governments may restrict
the import/export of bison for conservation projects based on
real or perceived risks of infection and transmission of reportable
diseases.
American Bison: Status Survey and Conservation Guidelines 2010 27