[Federal Register: March 27, 2008 (Volume 73, Number 60)]
[Notices]
[Page 16245-16246]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr27mr08-17]
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Notices
Federal Register
________________________________________________________________________
This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains documents other than rules
or proposed rules that are applicable to the public. Notices of hearings
and investigations, committee meetings, agency decisions and rulings,
delegations of authority, filing of petitions and applications and agency
statements of organization and functions are examples of documents
appearing in this section.
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[[Page 16245]]
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
[Docket No: APHIS-2008-0012]
Notice of Availability of Assessments of the Highly Pathogenic
Avian Influenza Subtype H5N1 Status of Denmark and France
AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA.
ACTION: Notice of availability and request for comments.
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SUMMARY: We are advising the public that the Animal and Plant Health
Inspection Service has prepared assessments of the animal health status
of Denmark and France relative to the H5N1 subtype of highly pathogenic
avian influenza (HPAI), following single outbreaks of HPAI subtype H5N1
in domestic poultry in each of those countries. The assessments present
our evaluation of the HPAI H5N1 detection, control, and eradication
measures in place in Denmark and France at the time of the outbreaks
and of the actions taken by each country in response to the outbreaks,
as well as our assessment of the present status of each country with
respect to HPAI subtype H5N1. We are making these risk assessments
available to the public for review and comment.
DATES: We will consider all comments we receive prior to April 28,
2008.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by either of the following methods:
Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to http://
www.regulations.gov/fdmspublic/component/
main?main=DocketDetail&d=APHIS-2008-0012 to submit or view comments and
to view supporting and related materials available electronically.
Postal Mail/Commercial Delivery: Please send two copies of
your comment to Docket No. APHIS-2008-0012, Regulatory Analysis and
Development, PPD, APHIS, Station 3A-03.8, 4700 River Road Unit 118,
Riverdale, MD 20737-1238. Please state that your comment refers to
Docket No. APHIS-2008-0012.
Reading Room: You may read any comments that we receive on the
assessments in our reading room. The reading room is located in room
1141 of the USDA South Building, 14th Street and Independence Avenue,
SW., Washington, DC. Normal reading room hours are 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.,
Monday through Friday, except holidays. To be sure someone is there to
help you, please call (202) 690-2817 before coming.
Other Information: Additional information about APHIS and its
programs is available on the Internet at http://www.aphis.usda.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. Julia Punderson, Regionalization
Evaluation Services-Import, Sanitary Trade Issues Team, National Center
for Import and Export, VS, APHIS, 4700 River Road Unit 38, Riverdale,
MD 20737-1231, 301-734-4356.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
Under the Animal Health Protection Act (7 U.S.C. 8301 et seq.), the
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) has the authority to
prohibit or restrict the importation into the United States of animals,
animal products, and other articles in order to prevent the
introduction of diseases and pests into the U.S. livestock and poultry
populations.
Highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) is a zoonotic disease of
poultry. The H5N1 subtype of HPAI is an extremely infectious and fatal
form of the disease. HPAI can strike poultry quickly without any
warning signs of infection and, once established, can spread rapidly
from flock to flock. HPAI viruses can also be spread by manure,
equipment, vehicles, egg flats, crates, and people whose clothing or
shoes have come in contact with the virus. HPAI viruses can remain
viable at moderate temperatures for long periods in the environment and
can survive indefinitely in frozen material. The H5N1 subtype of HPAI
has been of particular concern because it has crossed the species
barrier and caused disease in humans.
On February 25, 2006, France reported to the World Organization for
Animal Health (OIE) an outbreak of HPAI H5N1 in a turkey breeding
flock. On May 18, 2006, Denmark reported to the OIE an outbreak of HPAI
H5N1 in a backyard poultry flock. To prevent the introduction of HPAI
H5N1 into the United States, APHIS designated the affected regions in
both Denmark and France as regions where HPAI was considered to exist,
and prohibited the importation of birds, poultry, and poultry products
from these regions into the United States.
In the assessment titled ``APHIS Analysis of the Status of High
Pathogenicity Avian Influenza H5N1 (HPAI H5N1) Virus in France''
(December 2007), we present the results of our evaluation of the
prevalence of HPAI H5N1 in domestic poultry in France in light of the
actions taken by French authorities since that outbreak, and document
our analysis of the risk associated with allowing the importation of
birds, poultry, and poultry products from France into the United States
in the aftermath of the outbreak. The assessment titled ``APHIS
Analysis of the Status of High Pathogenicity Avian Influenza H5N1 (HPAI
H5N1) Virus in Denmark'' (December 2007) conducts a similar examination
and analysis with respect to the situation in Denmark. We conducted
each evaluation based on documentation supplied to APHIS by animal
health authorities within the respective countries, existing European
Union legislation, final reports each country submitted to the OIE
regarding the outbreaks, and information that the Danish and French
animal health authorities posted on their Web sites.
We based our evaluation of each country's HPAI H5N1 status on the
following critical factors:
Each country has been free of outbreaks of the H5N1
subtype in its domestic poultry for at least 3 months, as a result of
effective control measures taken by a competent veterinary
infrastructure;
HPAI H5N1 was a notifiable disease in each country at the
time of the outbreak;
Each country had an ongoing disease awareness program in
place at the time of the outbreak;
Each country investigated notified or suspected
occurrences of the disease;
[[Page 16246]]
Each country had an effective surveillance program in
place that supported the detection and investigation of outbreaks;
Diagnostic and laboratory capabilities within each country
were both adequate and effective;
Each country undertook appropriate eradication and control
measures and movement restrictions in response to the outbreaks to
prevent further spread of the disease; and
In each country, procedures used for repopulation of
affected premises included monitoring to demonstrate that HPAI H5N1 had
been eradicated from the premises.
Based on these factors, which are consistent with the OIE's
recommendations for reinstatement for trade with a country that has
experienced an HPAI H5N1 outbreak,\1\ our assessment concludes that
both France and Denmark had adequate detection and control measures in
place at the time of the outbreak, that they have been able to
effectively control and eradicate HPAI H5N1 in their domestic poultry
populations since that time, and that both French and Danish animal
health authorities have control measures in place to rapidly identify,
control, and eradicate the disease should it be reintroduced into
France or Denmark in either wild birds or domestic poultry.
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\1\ OIE (2006). Risk Analysis. In Terrestrial Animal Health
Code, 14th edition. Paris, World Organization for Animal Health:
Section 2.7.12. To view the document on the Internet, go to http://
www.oie.int/eng/normes/mcode/A_summry.htm?e1d11.
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We are making these assessments available for public comment. We
will consider all comments that we receive on or before the date listed
under the heading DATES at the beginning of this notice.
If, after the close of the comment period, APHIS can identify no
additional risk factors that would indicate that domestic poultry in
either France or Denmark continue to be affected with HPAI H5N1, we
would conclude that the importation of live birds, poultry carcasses,
parts or products of poultry carcasses, and eggs (other than hatching
eggs) of poultry, game birds, or other birds from either France or
Denmark presents a low risk of introducing HPAI H5N1 into the United
States.
The assessments may be viewed on the Regulations.gov Web site or in
our reading room (see ADDRESSES above for a link to Regulations.gov and
information on the location and hours of the reading room). You may
request paper copies of the assessments by calling or writing to the
person listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT. Please refer to
the titles of the assessments when requesting copies.
Done in Washington, DC, this 21st day of March 2008.
Kevin Shea,
Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. E8-6241 Filed 3-26-08; 8:45 am]
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