CHAPTER 3
The following Veterinary Services (VS) programs are
designed to eradicate, control, or prevent diseases that
threaten the biological and commercial health of the U.S.
livestock and poultry industries.
Eradication Programs
VS eradication programs include scrapie in sheep and
goats, tuberculosis in cattle and cervids, pseudorabies and
brucellosis in swine, and brucellosis in cattle and bison.
Scrapie in Sheep and Goats
Disease and Program History—Scrapie was first
discovered in the United States in 1947 in a Michigan
flock that, for several years, had imported sheep of
British origin from Canada. Since 1952, VS has worked
to control scrapie in the United States. As a result of
increasing industry and public concern about transmissible
spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs) and the discovery of
new TSE diagnostic and control methods, VS initiated an
accelerated scrapie eradication program in 2000.
Current Program—The primary aspects of the scrapie
eradication program are animal identification, surveillance,
tracing of positive and exposed animals, testing of sheep
and goats in exposed flocks, cleanup of infected flocks,
and certification of flocks.
Animal Identification—Identification of breeding
sheep and culled breeding sheep is mandatory when
ownership changes. The only sheep that do not have to
be identified are those less than 18 months old and, in
the case of ewes, those that also have not lambed or
become pregnant and are in slaughter channels. As of
September 30, 2005, 103,580 premises with sheep and/or
goats were recorded in the scrapie national database. (In
this database, a premises that contains both sheep and
goats might be listed once for each species.) Of these
premises, 73,807 have requested and received official
eartags (tags approved for use by the Animal and Plant
Health Inspection Service [APHIS] in the official scrapie
eradication program).
Regulatory Scrapie Slaughter Surveillance (RSSS)—
The RSSS program, initiated on April 1, 2003, is the
primary surveilla