by John Maday, Editor, Bovine Veterinarian
An upcoming training module from USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) will help accredited veterinarians keep the reproductive disease trichomoniasis, also known as trich, out or their clients’ herds.
Veterinarians participating in the National Veterinary Accreditation Program (NVAP) must complete six of the program’s training modules every three years to maintain their accreditation, which allows them to file interstate certificates of veterinary inspection, participate in federal disease reporting and perform other federally sanctioned duties.
At the recent Cattle Industry Summer Conference, during a meeting of the NCBA’s BVD Working Group, APHIS veterinarian Arnold Gertonson, DVM, outlined the upcoming module, which is in its final stages of development led by veterinarians at Iowa State University’s Center for Food Safety and Public Health. A list of about 25 practicing veterinarians, state veterinarians, researchers and diagnostic laboratory pathologists have reviewed the module for accuracy and clarity.
Gertonson says the NVAP currently offers 23 training modules, with four more under development. The trich module will be listed as number 27.
The module will include information on the impact of trichomoniasis, clinical signs, modes of transmission and control strategies. It also will include updated information on trichomoniasis testing requirements, which vary between states, and provide standardized recommendations for collecting samples, sample handling, packaging and shipping to diagnostic laboratories.
Gertonson says APHIS hopes, through this module and other efforts, to help states harmonize their requirements related to trichomoniasis prevention, which mostly focus on testing bulls for the disease. During the same meeting, Colorado state veterinarian Keith Roehr, DVM, said 23 states currently have no trich-testing requirements. Six states – Colorado, Kansas, Montana, North Dakota, Oregon and South Dakota – have consistent requirement. Five more – California, Georgia, Tennessee, Washington and Wyoming have changes toward harmonization pending and 11 others are expected to move toward harmonization in the future.
Learn more about the National Veterinary Accreditation Program from APHIS Veterinary Services.
A list of currently available educational modules is available online from NVAP.
Source: Drovers Cattle Network
