[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 61 (Wednesday, March 31, 1999)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 15296-15298]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-7804]
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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
9 CFR Part 78
[Docket No. 98-060-2]
Brucellosis; Procedures for Retaining Class Free State Status
AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA.
ACTION: Final rule.
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SUMMARY: We are amending the brucellosis regulations to allow a State
to retain its Class Free status following the detection of an affected
herd if the State meets certain conditions. These conditions, which
include quarantining, testing, and depopulating the affected herd and
conducting an investigation to ensure that brucellosis has not spread
from the affected herd, will allow a State to avoid losing its Class
Free status due to an isolated case of infection being detected in the
State. We believe that providing this option to States will encourage
the prompt resolution of isolated cases of brucellosis and thus ensure
the continued progress of State and Federal efforts toward the
eradication of brucellosis in domestic cattle and bison herds. Without
this change in the regulations, a State could lose its Class Free
status following the detection of a single affected herd and will not
have as great an incentive to take swift and decisive action to
determine the source of the infection, eliminate the affected herd, and
ensure that the disease had not spread to other herds in the State.
EFFECTIVE DATE: April 30, 1999.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. Valerie Ragan, Senior Staff
Veterinarian, National Animal Health Programs, VS, APHIS, 4700 River
Road Unit 36, Riverdale, MD 20737-1231, (301) 734-7708.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
Brucellosis is a contagious disease affecting animals and humans,
caused by bacteria of the genus Brucella. In its principal animal
hosts, brucellosis is characterized by abortion and impaired fertility.
The brucellosis regulations contained in 9 CFR part 78 (referred to
below as the regulations) provide a system for classifying States or
portions of States (areas) according to the rate of Brucella abortus
infection present and the general effectiveness of the brucellosis
control and eradication program conducted in the State or area. The
classifications are Class Free, Class A, Class B, and Class C; States
or areas that do not meet the minimum standards for Class C may be
placed under Federal quarantine. At this point in the cooperative
State/Federal brucellosis eradication program, all States have achieved
either Class Free or Class A status.
To maintain Class Free status, the regulations require, among other
things, that a State must have a herd infection rate of 0.0 percent or
0 herds per 1,000. A State's herd infection rate is based on the number
of herds found to have brucellosis reactors within the State during any
12 consecutive months due to field strain Brucella abortus. The
required 0.0 percent herd infection rate means that a Class Free State
would no longer qualify for Class Free status if a single brucellosis-
affected herd was detected in the State. A downgrade in status from
Class Free to Class A results in increased costs for States and their
livestock owners, with most of those added costs arising from the
increased testing requirements that accompany Class A status.
On September 17, 1998, we published in the Federal Register (63 FR
49670-49673, Docket No. 98-060-1) a proposed rule to amend the
brucellosis regulations to allow a State to retain its Class Free
status following the detection of a single affected herd if the State
met certain conditions. As described in the proposed rule, those
conditions, which include quarantining, testing, and depopulating the
affected herd and conducting an investigation to ensure that
brucellosis has not spread from the affected herd, would allow a State
to avoid losing its Class Free status due to an isolated case of
infection being detected in the State.
We solicited comments concerning our proposal for 60 days ending on
November 2, 1998. We received five comments by that date. They were
from a State office of Federal land policy, a State game and fish
agency, a State livestock board, a veterinary medical association, and
a national milk producers association. All five commenters supported
the proposed rule, although three of them asked for clarification of
the following points:
Applicability. Two commenters asked that we clearly state that the
provisions of the proposed rule would apply only to domestic livestock
and not to wildlife.
The commenters' understanding of the applicability of these
provisions is correct. The conditions that would have to be met for a
State to retain its Class Free status--i.e., quarantining, testing, and
depopulating the affected herd and investigating all adjacent, source,
and contact herds to ensure the disease has not spread from the
affected herd--simply could not be practically applied to wildlife. The
provisions of this rule are applicable only to situations where a herd
of domestic livestock in a Class Free State is found to be affected.
Start of the 60-day period. Because a State would be given 60 days
following the identification of an infected animal to complete the
requirements for retaining Class Free status, one commenter asked that
we clearly define the phrase ``identification of the infected animal.''
This commenter pointed out that in some cases, a reactor classification
test occurs in which organisms cannot be cultured to differentiate
whether Strain 19 or field strain Brucella abortus is involved, and
those cases must be resolved by an epidemiological investigation. The
commenter suggested that the 60-day
[[Page 15297]]
period should not begin until an investigation determines that an
animal is infected with the field strain of Brucella abortus and is not
reacting to an official brucellosis test due to its having been
vaccinated with a Strain 19 vaccine.
The commenter's understanding of when the 60-day period would begin
is correct. If an animal reacts to an official brucellosis test and we
are able to determine, through culturing, that the animal is infected
with field strain Brucella abortus, then the 60-day period would begin
on the date of that laboratory confirmation. If culturing proves
inconclusive and an investigation is necessary to resolve the case,
then the 60-day period would not begin until the date that the
investigating epidemiologist reports that the animal is a Brucella
abortus reactor. If further investigation leads the epidemiologist to
conclude that the animal is a Strain 19 associated reactor, the herd
will not be considered an affected herd. To make this clearer, we have
changed new paragraph Sec. 78.1(b)(4) in this final rule so that it
uses the words ``within 60 days of the date an animal in the herd is
determined to be infected'' rather than ``within 60 days of the
identification of the infected animal.''
Therefore, for the reasons given in the proposed rule and in this
document, we are adopting the proposed rule as a final rule with the
changes discussed in this document.
Executive Order 12866 and Regulatory Flexibility Act
This rule has been reviewed under Executive Order 12866. The rule
has been determined to be not significant for the purposes of Executive
Order 12866 and, therefore, has not been reviewed by the Office of
Management and Budget.
Producers and consumers have realized great financial savings from
the success of the cooperative State/Federal brucellosis eradication
program. Annual losses from lowered milk production, aborted calves and
pigs, and reduced breeding efficiency have decreased from more than
$400 million in 1952 to less than $1 million today. Studies indicate
that if the brucellosis eradication program efforts were stopped, the
costs of producing beef and milk could increase by an estimated $80
million annually in less than 10 years with the gradual spread of
brucellosis.
This rule amends the brucellosis regulations to allow a State to
retain its Class Free status following the detection of an affected
herd if the State meets certain conditions. These conditions, which
include depopulating the affected herd and taking measures to ensure
that brucellosis has not spread from the affected herd, will allow a
State to avoid losing its Class Free status due to an isolated case of
infection being detected in the State.
The entities potentially affected by this rule are the 43 States,
Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands that currently hold Class Free
status and the producers of livestock in those States and territories.
The total number of cattle and bison in the United States was
approximately 101.4 million in 1997, and was valued at about $53.2
billion. There were 1,167,910 U.S. operations with cattle and bison in
1997. Over 97 percent of these operations are considered to be small
entities, with gross cash value of less than $500,000 each (USDA,
National Agricultural Statistics Service, ``Agricultural Statistics
1997,'' Washington, DC, 1997).
Allowing a State to retain its Class Free status under certain
conditions can be expected to have an overall positive economic effect
for several reasons. First, when a State's status is upgraded from
Class A to Class Free, the State realizes a cost savings through the
reduction in the required level of brucellosis ring test (BRT)
surveillance. The BRT must be conducted in a Class A State or area at
least four times per year at approximately 90-day intervals, with all
herds producing milk for sale in the State being required to be
included in at least three of the four brucellosis ring tests conducted
each year. When a State attains Class Free status, the level of BRT
surveillance is lowered to two brucellosis ring tests per year for each
herd producing milk for sale in the State. Thus, allowing a State to
retain its Class Free status will enable the State to avoid the added
testing and personnel costs associated with the higher level of BRT
surveillance required of Class A States.
Second, allowing a State to retain its Class Free status will mean
that herd owners in the State can continue to avoid the costs of pre-
movement testing of their test-eligible cattle and bison. In a Class A
State, test-eligible cattle and bison offered for sale interstate from
other than certified-free herds must test negative for brucellosis
prior to movement. Because that testing is not required for test-
eligible cattle and bison in Class Free States, herd owners in a State
allowed to retain its Class Free status under the provisions of this
rule will continue to be able to move their cattle or bison interstate
without incurring the approximately $3.25 per-head cost of testing.
Finally, in those cases in which a brucellosis-affected herd is
depopulated in order for a State to retain its Class Free status, the
costs of that depopulation may be largely offset through the payment of
Federal indemnity for the destroyed animals. Under the brucellosis
indemnity regulations in 9 CFR part 51, any owner whose herd of cattle
or bison is destroyed because of brucellosis is eligible for the
payment of Federal indemnity. The rate of indemnity is set as either:
(1) The appraised value of each animal, minus its salvage value; or (2)
a fixed rate of no more than $250 per animal for bison and
nonregistered cattle other than dairy cattle and $750 per animal for
registered cattle and nonregistered dairy cattle.
Class Free States will not be required to pursue the option offered
by this rule for retaining Class Free status following the detection of
a brucellosis-affected herd. However, we believe that the economic
benefits that a State can realize by taking action to avoid being
downgraded to Class A status will far outweigh the costs of the herd
depopulation, epidemiological investigation, and testing that will be
required to retain Class Free status.
Under these circumstances, the Administrator of the Animal and
Plant Health Inspection Service has determined that this action will
not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small
entities.
Executive Order 12372
This program/activity is listed in the Catalog of Federal Domestic
Assistance under No. 10.025 and is subject to Executive Order 12372,
which requires intergovernmental consultation with State and local
officials. (See 7 CFR part 3015, subpart V.)
Executive Order 12988
This rule has been reviewed under Executive Order 12988, Civil
Justice Reform. This rule: (1) Preempts all State and local laws and
regulations that are in conflict with this rule; (2) has no retroactive
effect; and (3) does not require administrative proceedings before
parties may file suit in court challenging this rule.
Paperwork Reduction Act
This rule contains no new information collection or recordkeeping
requirements under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501
et seq.).
List of Subjects in 9 CFR Part 78
Animal diseases, Bison, Cattle, Hogs, Quarantine, Reporting and
[[Page 15298]]
recordkeeping requirements, Transportation.
Accordingly, we are amending 9 CFR part 78 as follows:
PART 78--BRUCELLOSIS
1. The authority citation for part 78 continues to read as follows:
Authority: 21 U.S.C. 111-114a-1, 114g, 115, 117, 120, 121, 123-
126, 134b, and 134f; 7 CFR 2.22, 2.80, and 371.2(d).
2. In Sec. 78.1, in the definition of Class Free State or area, a
new paragraph (b)(4) is added to read as follows:
Sec. 78.1 Definitions.
* * * * *
Class free State or area. * * *
(b) * * *
(4) Retaining Class Free status. (i) If a single herd in a Class
Free State is found to be affected with brucellosis, the State may
retain its Class Free status if it meets the conditions of this
paragraph. A State may retain its status in this manner only once
during any 2-year period. The following conditions must be satisfied
within 60 days of the date an animal in the herd is determined to be
infected:
(A) The affected herd must be immediately quarantined, tested for
brucellosis, and depopulated; and
(B) An epidemiological investigation must be performed and the
investigation must confirm that brucellosis has not spread from the
affected herd. All herds on premises adjacent to the affected herd
(adjacent herds), all herds from which animals may have been brought
into the affected herd (source herds), and all herds that may have had
contact with or accepted animals from the affected herd (contact herds)
must be epidemiologically investigated, and each of those herds must be
placed under an approved individual herd plan. If the investigating
epidemiologist determines that a herd blood test for a particular
adjacent herd, source herd, or contact herd is not warranted, the
epidemiologist must include that determination, and the reasons
supporting it, in the individual herd plan.
(ii) After the close of the 60-day period following the date an
animal in the herd is determined to be infected, APHIS will conduct a
review to confirm that the requirements of paragraph (b)(4)(i) have
been satisfied and that the State is in compliance with all other
applicable provisions.
* * * * *
Done in Washington, DC, this 24th day of March 1999.
Craig A. Reed,
Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. 99-7804 Filed 3-30-99; 8:45 am]
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