| (a) Quarantine provisions.
(1) Poultry and/or premises shall be placed under quarantine
when evidence of infection or possible exposure to any contagious
and/or communicable disease not considered to be endemic exists in
the State of Texas. A quarantine shall remain in effect until epidemiological
evidence of the existing disease or exposure thereto is satisfied.
After due consideration of epidemiological evidence, the executive
director of the commission may cause the quarantine to be released.
(2) When Laryngotracheitis infection is confirmed in
any house on a farm, the entire farm will be placed under quarantine,
and all poultry on that farm will be considered infected and no molting
will be allowed until after the quarantine has been released. Official
quarantine signs will be posted in a prominent place at the entrance
to the premise and on the doors of each house. The doors should be
locked when the house is unattended.
(3) Premises may be released from a Laryngotracheitis
quarantine when:
(A) the farm has been depopulated and established cleaning
and disinfection procedures have been applied;
(B) all infected poultry have been removed and all
replacement poultry have been vaccinated twice with cell culture vaccine,
no chick embryo origin vaccine has been used, and a surveillance system
as established by the commission is carried out with no evidence of
active infection; or
(C) all dead poultry and caked litter are removed;
the houses are sprayed with disinfectant and closed for 15 to 30 days;
and two consecutive sets of nonvaccinated poultry are raised in the
houses with no evidence of infection based on commission surveillance.
(4) When fowl typhoid (S. gallinarum) infection is
confirmed in a flock, the farm on which the flock is located shall
be placed under quarantine and the flock depopulated. Following depopulation
and burial or incineration of all poultry, nest material, and litter,
the premise and facilities shall be cleaned and disinfected. The premise
shall remain quarantined for at least 180 days following depopulation
during which time poultry shall not be reintroduced to the premises.
Following removal of the quarantine, repopulation of the premises
may be allowed with poultry that have been tested negative to fowl
typhoid.
(b) Public exhibitions. Poultry entered in public exhibition
shall originate from flocks or hatcheries free of pullorum disease
and fowl typhoid or have a negative pullorum-typhoid test within 30
days before exhibition. Chickens or turkeys entered in public exhibition
shall be accompanied by a certificate of source.
(c) Public sales. Poultry offered for public sale or
trade at markets such as trade days, flea markets, auctions, or any
other public sale shall originate from pullorum-typhoid clean flocks
or hatcheries. The seller shall furnish proof of the source of poultry
or hatching eggs offered for public sale. The owner or management
of any market or public sale shall prevent the sale, trade, or offer
for sale of any poultry that is not properly qualified under the Texas
Pullorum-Typhoid Program as prescribed by the Texas Veterinary Medical
Diagnostic Laboratory (TVMDL) and/or the National Poultry Improvement
Plan. Failure to enforce this requirement may result in the seeking
of a court order prohibiting any further sale of poultry on the grounds.
Poultry from states other than Texas shall be accompanied by a health
certificate from the state of origin, including a negative pullorum-typhoid
test within 30 days of the sale as described in subsection (e)(1)
of this section. Poultry not properly identified and qualified as
pullorum-typhoid clean are prohibited from sale and shall be returned
to the owner's or dealer's premises.
(d) Surveillance. The commission may pick up dead poultry
at farms to determine if Laryngotracheitis or any other disease is
present in any area.
(e) Interstate Movement.
(1) Poultry shipped into the State of Texas shall be
accompanied by an official health certificate issued by an accredited
veterinarian within 30 days prior to shipment. The health certificate
shall state that the poultry have been inspected and are free of evidence
of infectious or contagious disease; that the poultry have been vaccinated
only with approved vaccines as defined in this regulation; and that
the poultry have not originated from an area that has had active Laryngotracheitis
or chicken embryo origin Laryngotracheitis vaccine virus within the
last 30 days. The certificate shall also state the poultry have passed
a negative test for pullorum-typhoid within 30 days prior to shipment
or that they originate from flocks which have met the pullorum-typhoid
requirements of the Texas Pullorum-Typhoid Program and/or the National
Poultry Improvement Plan. Baby poultry will be exempt from this section
if from an NPIP, or equivalent, hatchery, and accompanied by NPIP
Form 9-3, or APHIS Form 17-6; or, are covered by an approved "Commuter
Poultry Flock Agreement" on file with the state of origin and the
commission.
(2) An official health certificate is not required
on poultry consigned to slaughter establishments, which maintain federal
postmortem inspection, provided the shipment is accompanied by a waybill
indicating the plant of destination.
(3) Live poultry, unprocessed poultry, hatching eggs,
unprocessed eggs, egg flats, poultry coops, cages, crates, other birds,
and used poultry equipment affected with, or recently exposed to,
infectious, contagious, or communicable disease, or originating in
state or federal quarantined areas shall not enter Texas without express
written consent from the commission.
(f) Depopulation and disposition of poultry and eggs.
The commission shall depopulate or dispose of poultry and/or hatching
eggs that pose a threat to the poultry industry of the State of Texas
after a hearing before the commission pursuant to the Administrative
Procedure Act.
(g) Dead poultry disposal. Dead poultry are to be disposed
of by incinerating, burying in disposal pits, or hauling to a rendering
plant in closed containers.
(h) Cleaning and disinfecting.
(1) Premises found to have housed, incubated, brooded,
or ranged an infected flock shall be cleaned and disinfected under
the supervision of the commission within 15 days following depopulation,
unless an extension of time is granted. Infected premises shall not
be restocked with poultry or eggs for hatching purposes until the
cleaning and disinfecting requirement of this subsection is certified
complete by the commission. The following cleaning and disinfection
procedures are approved for Laryngotracheitis:
(A) completely clean house, spray with disinfectant,
and close for 15-30 days; or
(B) remove all dead poultry and caked litter, spray
with disinfectant, and close for 15-30 days.
(2) Trucks, loading equipment, cages, or coops used
in hauling poultry vaccinated with restricted vaccines or infected
with a reportable disease within a designated area or from a designated
area shall be cleaned and disinfected prior to entering premises on
which the disease has not been diagnosed and the vaccine has not been
used or as directed by the commission.
(i) Designated area for Laryngotracheitis. The following
procedures shall apply to all poultry operations:
(1) Replacement poultry. All poultry housed in the
designated area will be vaccinated twice (no earlier than four weeks
of age and again at least four weeks later) with cell culture (eye
drop) modified vaccine before being housed for egg production. A certificate
of vaccination must be on file with the owner, farm manager, and the
commission. Prior entry permit and health certificate with vaccination
history are required for poultry originating out-of-state. These poultry
may receive the second vaccination upon arrival at farm, but the first
vaccination must be no earlier than four weeks of age.
(2) Molted hens.
(A) Any hen molted and retained for egg production
must be vaccinated with cell culture vaccine after molting.
(B) The hens on known infected premises may be allowed
to complete the laying cycle but shall not be molted. Empty houses
shall be repopulated only with pullets that have been vaccinated twice
with cell culture vaccine at the proper age.
(3) Broilers may be vaccinated with chick embryo vaccine
under the following conditions.
(A) No vaccination except by agreement with the commission.
(B) Agreements signed under the following conditions:
(i) broilers less than five weeks of age located within
a designated area;
(ii) the next two flocks following an infected flock
if epidemiologically sound;
Cont'd... |
