Virginia Administrative Code › Title 2 - AGRICULTURE › Agency 5 - DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE AND CONSUMER SERVICES › Chapter 206 - REGULATION FOR SCRAPIE ERADICATION › Section 2VAC5-206-10 - Definitions

Current through Register Vol. 40, No. 24, July 15, 2024
"Accredited veterinarian" means a veterinarian approved by
				  the United States Department of Agriculture in accordance with
				  9 CFR
				  160.1(2002).
"Animal" means any sheep or goat.
"Breeding goat" means any sexually intact goat of any age
				  that is not moving directly to slaughter, or through slaughter channels to
				  slaughter.
"Consistent state" means a state listed in
				  9 CFR
				  79.1 that the USDA Administrator has
				  determined in compliance with 9 CFR 79.6.
"Exposed animal" means
(i) any animal that has been in the same
				flock at the same time as a scrapie-positive female animal, excluding limited
				contacts;
(ii) any animal born in a
				flock after a scrapie-positive animal was born into that flock or lambed in
				that flock, if born before that flock completes the requirements of a flock
				plan;
(iii) any animal that was
				commingled with a scrapie-positive female animal during or up to 30 days after
				she lambed, kidded, or aborted, or while a visible vaginal discharge was
				present, or that was commingled with any other scrapie-positive female animal
				for 24 hours or more, including during activities such as shows and sales or
				while in marketing channels; or
(iv) any animal in a noncompliant flock.
"Exposed flock" means any flock in which a scrapie-positive
				  animal was born or lambed. Any flock that currently contains a female
				  high-risk, exposed, or suspect animal, or that once contained a female
				  high-risk, exposed, or suspect animal that lambed in the flock and from which
				  tissues were not submitted for official testing and found negative. A flock
				  that has completed a postexposure management and monitoring plan following the
				  exposure will no longer be an exposed flock.
"Flock" means all animals, sheep, goats, or commingled sheep
				  and goats, maintained on a single premises and all animals under common
				  ownership or supervision on two or more premises with animal interchange
				  between the premises. Changes in ownership of part or all of the flock do not
				  change the identity of the flock or the regulatory requirements applicable to
				  the flock.
"Flock of origin" means the flock in which an animal most
				  recently resided in which it was either born, gave birth, or was used for
				  breeding purposes. The determination of an animal's flock of origin may be
				  based either on the physical presence of the animal in the flock, the presence
				  of official identification on the animal traceable to the flock, the presence
				  of other identification on the animal that is listed on the bill of sale, or
				  other evidence, such as registry records. For all male animals it is the flock
				  of birth.
"Flock plan" means a written flock-management agreement
				  signed by (i) the owner of a flock, (ii) the accredited veterinarian (if one is
				  employed by the owner), (iii) an APHIS representative, or (iv) the State
				  Veterinarian, 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 an 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.
"High-risk animal" means a sexually intact animal, excluding
				  male sheep that have tested RR at codon 171 and AA at codon 136 using an
				  official genotype test, that has not been redesignated as part of a
				  USDA-approved pilot project that is:
1. The progeny of a scrapie-positive
				dam;
2. Born in the same flock
				during the same lambing season as progeny of a scrapie-positive dam, unless the
				progeny of the scrapie-positive dam are from separate contemporary lambing
				groups;
3. Born in the same flock
				during the same lambing season that a scrapie-positive animal was born, or
				during any subsequent lambing season, if born before that flock completes the
				requirements of a flock plan; or
4.
				An exposed female sheep that has not tested QR, HR, or RR at codon 171 using an
				official genotype test.
"Infected flock" means any flock in which a state or APHIS
				  representative has determined that a scrapie-positive female animal has resided
				  unless an epidemiologic investigation conducted by a State or APHIS
				  representative shows that the animal did not lamb or abort in the flock. A
				  flock will no longer be considered an infected flock after it has completed the
				  requirements of a flock plan.
"Low-risk commercial goat" means a low-risk goat from a flock
				  in which animals are moved to slaughter only directly or through slaughter
				  channels or any animal raised only for meat or fiber production and not
				  registered with a sheep or goat registry or used for exhibition.
"Low-risk goat" means a goat that is not a scrapie-positive,
				  suspect, high-risk, or exposed animal; that has not been commingled with sheep;
				  and that is from a state in which (i) scrapie has not been identified in a goat
				  during the previous 10 years; (ii) scrapie has been identified in a goat during
				  the previous 10 years, but the scrapie-positive goat was not born in the state,
				  resided in the state for less than 72 months, and did not kid while in the
				  state; or (iii) scrapie has been identified in a goat during the previous 10
				  years and the scrapie-positive goat was commingled with sheep but records
				  allowed a complete epidemiologic investigation to be completed and all
				  resulting infected, source, and exposed goat flocks had completed flock plans
				  and were in compliance with post-exposure monitoring and management
				  plans.
"Noncompliant flock" means
(i) 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 being so designated or whose owner is
				not in compliance with either agreement;
(ii) any exposed flock whose owner fails to
				make animals available for testing within 60 days of notification or as
				mutually agreed, or whose owner fails to submit required postmortem samples as
				directed in the PEMMP;
(iii) any
				flock whose owner has misrepresented, or who employs a person who has
				misrepresented, the scrapie status of an animal or any other information on a
				certificate, permit, owner statement, or other official document within the
				last five years; or
(iv) any flock
				whose owner or manager has moved, or who employs a person who has moved, an
				animal in violation of 9 CFR Part 79 within the last five years, as determined
				by the State Veterinarian or APHIS.
"Official USDA identification" means identification approved
				  by the USDA/APHIS/VS for use in the scrapie eradication program.
"Postexposure management and monitoring plan (PEMMP)" means a
				  written agreement signed by the owner of a flock, any accredited veterinarian
				  employed by the owner, and a state 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 state 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 required elements listed in the plan. This
				  plan must include the requirements in
				  9 CFR
				  54.8.
"Premises identification number" (PIN) means a unique number
				  used on official eartags and tattoos to identify the premises of origin of an
				  animal and that is recorded in the Scrapie National Generic Database. The first
				  two digits are the Postal Service abbreviation for states followed by an
				  alphanumeric number that does not include I, O, or Q, or is the national
				  premises identification number or other PIN approved by the State Veterinarian
				  and USDA/APHIS/VS.
"Scrapie" means a nonfebrile, transmissible, insidious,
				  degenerative disease that affects the central nervous system, and is a
				  transmissible spongiform encephalopathy (TSE) found in sheep and goats.
"Scrapie Flock Certification Program" means a voluntary
				  program, sponsored by the USDA/APHIS/VS, to reduce scrapie occurrence and
				  spread; identify flocks that have been free of evidence of scrapie over a
				  specified time period; and contribute to the eventual eradication of
				  scrapie.
"Scrapie-positive" means an animal that has tested positive
				  for scrapie by USDA-accepted testing methods by the National Veterinary
				  Services Laboratories, or another laboratory designated by the State
				  Veterinarian, to have the disease scrapie.
"Source flock" means a flock in which a state or APHIS
				  representative has determined that at least one animal was born that tested
				  positive for scrapie at an age of 72 months or less or in which a
				  scrapie-positive animal has resided throughout its life.
"State Veterinarian" means the Virginia State Veterinarian or
				  his representative employed by the Virginia Department of Agriculture and
				  Consumer Services.
"Suspect animal" means an animal designated suspect that is:
(i) a sheep or goat that exhibits any
				of the following clinical signs of scrapie and has been determined to be
				suspicious for scrapie by an accredited veterinarian or a state or APHIS
				representative: weight loss despite retention of appetite; behavioral
				abnormalities; pruritus (itching); wool pulling; biting at legs or side; lip
				smacking; motor abnormalities such as incoordination, high stepping 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;
(ii) a sheep or goat that has
				tested positive for scrapie or for the protease-resistant protein associated
				with scrapie on an unofficial test or a screening test; or
(iii) a sheep or goat whose official scrapie
				test yielded inconclusive or suggestive results (i.e., the NVSL report reads
				inconclusive or suggestive rather than not detected).
"USDA and USDA/APHIS/VS" means the United States Department
				  of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Veterinary
				  Services.