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PA Bulletin, Doc. No. 07-2209

NOTICES

Amendment of Quarantine Order; Viral Hemorrhagic Septicemia Virus

[37 Pa.B. 6428]
[Saturday, December 8, 2007]

Recitals

   A.  Viral hemorrhagic septicemia (VHS) is an infectious disease caused by a rhabdovirus--the viral hemorrhagic septicemia virus (VHSV)--in a variety of fish species.

   B.  VHS has been designated a ''dangerous transmissible disease'' of animals under a temporary order issued by the Department of Agriculture (Department) under 3 Pa.C.S. § 2321(d) (relating to dangerous transmissible diseases). The current temporary order making this designation was published at 36 Pa.B. 7974 (December 30, 2006).

   C.  The Department has broad authority under the Domestic Animal Law to regulate the keeping and handling of domestic animals to exclude, contain or eliminate dangerous transmissible diseases.

   D.  VHS has caused death losses to various fish species in the Great Lakes and other infected waterways.

   E.  VHS is of particular concern to Pennsylvania's aquaculture industry, in that its presence and impact may severely limit the market for Pennsylvania-produced fish and fish products.

   F.  VHS virus exists within the Lake Erie and Lake Ontario Watersheds, which includes portions of Crawford, Erie and Potter Counties.

   G.  The Department registers ''artificial propagators'' of fish and ''dealers'' of fish under 3 Pa.C.S. §§ 4201--4223 (relating to Aquacultural Development Law). There are the Department-registered artificial propagators and dealers within the Lake Erie and the Lake Ontario Watersheds.

   H.  VHS virus exists in several States outside this Commonwealth, including Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Ohio and Wisconsin.

   I.  There is no known treatment for VHS infection, no vaccine against this disease and no feasible live animal test that can detect the presence of VHSV.

   J.  The Domestic Animal Law allows at 3 Pa.C.S. § 2329 (relating to quarantine) for the establishment of a Quarantine Order under the circumstances described previously.

   K.  PDA established a VHS-related quarantine by Order of October 13, 2007. This was published at 37 Pa.B. 5534.

   L.  The referenced October 13, 2007, Quarantine Order incorporated the then-current list of ''VHS-susceptible species'' developed by the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA APHIS). USDA APHIS has since revised that list--adding some species to the list, deleting some species and clarifying the names of some species.

   M.  PDA seeks to amend its October 13, 2007, Quarantine Order by revising the definition of ''VHS-susceptible species'' to track with current USDA APHIS thinking on this subject.

Order

   The Department amends Paragraph 2 of the General Quarantine Order and Interstate Quarantine Order it issued with respect to VHS on October 13, 2007, as published at 37 Pa.B. 5534, to read in its entirety as follows:

   2.  VHS-susceptible species. For purposes of this order, the term ''VHS-susceptible species'' shall include live animals, dead animals and dead animal parts of the following fish species, as well as any other fish species designated ''VHS-susceptible species'' by the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA APHIS) after the effective date of this Order:

Black Crappie (Pomoxis nigromaculatus), Bluegill (Lepomis macrochirus), Bluntnose Minnow (Pime-phales notatus), Brown Bullhead (Ictalurus nebulosus), Brown Trout (Salmo trutta), Burbot (Lota lota), Channel Catfish (Ictalurus punctatus), Chinook Salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha), Emerald Shiner (Notropis atherinoides), Freshwater Drum (Aplodino-tus grunniens), Gizzard Shad (Dorosoma cepedia-num), Lake Whitefish (Coregonus clupeaformis), Largemouth Bass (Micropterus salmoides), Muskellunge (Esox masquinongy), Pike (Esox lucius), Pumpkinseed (Lepomis gibbosus), Rainbow Trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss), Rock Bass (Ambloplites rupestris), Round Goby (Neogobius melanostomus), Shorthead redhorse (Moxostoma macrolepidoptum), Silver redhorse (Moxostoma anisurum), Smallmouth Bass (Micropterus dolomieu), Spottail shiner (Notropis hudsonius), Trout-perch (Percopsis omiscomaycus), Walleye (Sander vitreus), White Bass (Morone chrysops), White Perch (Morone americana), Yellow Perch (Perca flavescens). The term ''VHS-susceptible species'' does not include the eggs of these species.

   The term ''VHS-susceptible species'' does not include any of the previously-listed species if it is no longer designated a ''VHS-susceptible species'' by USDA APHIS after the date of this Order.

   The referenced General Quarantine Order and Interstate Quarantine Order issued with respect to VHS on October 13, 2007, shall remain in full force and effect, with the amendment stated previously.

   This Order is immediately effective on this date, and shall remain in effect unless rescinded or modified by subsequent order.

   This Order shall not be construed as limiting the Department's authority to establish additional quarantine or testing requirements relating to VHS.

DENNIS C WOLFF,   
Secretary

[Pa.B. Doc. No. 07-2209. Filed for public inspection December 7, 2007, 9:00 a.m.]


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