Topics Related to Veterinary
Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler is encouraging equine owners to have their animals vaccinated against Eastern Equine Encephalomyelitis and West Nile Virus. “Mosquito-breeding season in North Carolina lasts from spring until the first frost and horses are at risk if not properly vaccinated,” Troxler said. “EEE is fatal 90 percent of the time in horses and WNV has a fatality rate of 30 percent. However, both diseases are preventable by vaccination.”
North Carolina poultry has been designated High Path Avian Influenza-free by the World Organization for Animal Health. This designation means that the state can resume exports and international trade for poultry products.
RALEIGH – A backyard flock in Dare County has tested positive for High Path Avian Influenza (HPAI). The positive sample was identified by the N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services Veterinary Diagnostic Lab in Raleigh. The flock has been depopulated to prevent spread of the disease. This is the first confirmed positive in Dare County. In January, HPAI was found in two commercial turkey operations in Sampson County and a layer operation in Hyde County.
A commercial layer operation in Hyde County has tested positive for High Path Avian Influenza. The disease was first identified by the N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services Veterinary Diagnostic Lab in Raleigh and then confirmed by the National Veterinary Services Laboratory in Ames, Iowa. This is the first case of high path avian influenza in commercial poultry in North Carolina since February 2024. Prior to this case, North Carolina has had 11 affected commercial flocks and eight backyard flocks.
RALEIGH – State Veterinarian Mike Martin has granted entry into North Carolina to Santa Claus and his magical reindeer. This ensures that Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner, Blitzen, and yes, even Rudolph will be allowed into the state on Christmas Eve. Reindeer are part of the cervid family that include deer, elk, moose and caribou. The North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services provides oversight of the movement of captive cervid into the state.
RALEIGH – The N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services has lifted the quarantine of a HPAI-positive dairy herd after serial testing was negative for the virus. This herd was the only HPAI-positive herd within the state and was directly linked to a dairy herd in Texas that was clinically affected and epidemiologically linked to the virus.
Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler is encouraging equine owners to have their animals vaccinated against Eastern Equine Encephalomyelitis and West Nile Virus. “Mosquito-breeding season in North Carolina lasts from spring until the first frost and horses are at risk if not properly vaccinated,” Troxler said. “EEE is fatal 90 percent of the time in horses and WNV has a fatality rate of 30 percent. However, both diseases are preventable by vaccination.”
North Carolina poultry has been designated High Path Avian Influenza-free by the World Organization for Animal Health. This designation means that the state can resume exports and international trade for poultry products.
The National Veterinary Services Laboratory has detected Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza in a dairy herd in North Carolina. HPAI has previously been detected in dairy herds in Texas, Kansas, Michigan, Idaho, New Mexico, and Ohio. Movement of cattle from affected herds in these states to North Carolina has been suspended.
RALEIGH – The Animal Welfare Section of the Veterinary Division of the N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services recently awarded nine community shelters grants as part of the Animal Shelter Support Fund program. These funds will be used to help shelters improve their facilities to better comply with the Animal Welfare Act.