CAHPS & YouKathleen Hartman, MS, DVM, PhD

Aquaculture Program LeaderUSDA APHIS Veterinary Services

Challenges to Commercial Aquaculture in the U.S.

Unrecognized aquatic animal health plan

No leverage with trading partners

No regions or zones

Complicated interstate movement

Diverse and complex requirements

Different authorities at the State level

Significant costs

Test results are often meaningless

And, hard to interpret

And, hard to compare

Patchwork Landscape of Health RequirementsTop 10

Guidelines and Regulations

OIE Guidelines AFS BB Guidelines State Regulations

Lot or Farm level of inspection? Farm Farm and Lot Lot treated like farm

Biosecurity following inspection? Protected water supply, fish movements, other No recommendation Few address this

Which diseases to test? OIE listed No recommendation OIE based lists, widespread serious diseases, VHS, ???

How many fish to test? 150+ reduce with history Lot: at least 60Farm: at least 60 from every lots (same age, species, water supply and broodstock)

Lot: 60 or 30 or 20Farm: 60 per species or 150 to 170 per farm

Which fish to test? All susceptible species per OIE manual or most susceptible species

Farm: all susceptible species (in BB), most susceptible speciesLot: species shipped if susceptible

Farm: All susceptible, all species, species to be shippedLot: Species to be shipped (if susceptible?)

How often? When? Seasons when likely to be detected – twice a year Farm: Once per year when water temps make detection most likelyLot: no guidance

Once per year typical, even for lot inspectionsNo guidance on temps. VHS at 95 ºF, no problem!

Who collects samples? Accredited veterinarian Accredited Veterinarian, state or federal official, FHS-Inspector, FHS-pathologist

Farmer >> FHS Inspector >veterinarian

Who conducts diagnostic assays? Determined by CA No recommendation Few recommendations, confusion over APHIS approval

Which assay protocols to use? OIE manual Inspection section None specified – BB, OIE or APHIS approved protocols

Certification required? Competent authority (i.e., APHIS) No recommendation Testing labs, FHS Inspector, Veterinarian, Veterinarian with training, State official

USDA NAHMS - Aquaculture 2020

Pre-assessment survey results Top 5 health topics

Infectious diseases in the U.S.

Regulatory requirements

Domestic animal movement

Environmental stewardship/sustainability

Biosecurity and infectious diseases not in the U.S.

Greatest health risks to your aquaculture farm Emerging diseases

Regulatory confusion

Greatest health risks to U.S. aquaculture Inadequate knowledge/training on health issues

Emerging diseases

Regulatory confusion

Commercial Aquaculture

The business of farming aquatic animals for sale or trade, with some sort of intervention in the rearing or farming process.

Approach

Nonregulatory site specific health management plan for livestock

Voluntary participation, mandatory compliance Oversight, auditable documentation

Science-based Flexible and responsive to emerging pathogens, diagnostic

technology, and scalable surveillance strategies

Strengthened through participation, collaboration, partnership and recognition

Principles of Standards

1. Aquatic animal health team

• Knowledge & skills

2. Risk evaluation

• Science & method

3. Specific Pathogen Surveillance

• Strategy

4. Investigation and reporting

• Process & protocols

5. Response & Recovery

Aquatic Animal Health Team

"Dairymen are in business for profit. So are veterinarians. When dairymen and veterinarians work together to manage animal production for profit, their mutually beneficial working relationship is called production medicine.”

- T. Fuhrman1993 Western Large Herd Management Conference

Comprised of: Veterinarians, AFS certified

professionals, laboratorians, extension agents & other subject matter experts

Actively engages with site

Assists with Site-Specific Health Plan Development, implementation and

evaluation

Risk Based Evaluation

Risk Identification

• Pathogens of concern for species being cultured and for species in proximity

• Pathways of introduction or spread

Risk Characterization

• Degree, scope, impact of risk

Risk Management

• Biosecurity practices

Management procedures to mitigate identified risks in area

Biosecurityo Animals

o Incoming, sick, movement, disposal

o Watero Source water, shipping water, receiving

water

o Feedo Source, storage and distribution

o Fomiteso Equipment, shipping materials,

vehicles

o Movement, identification

o Vectorso People and pests

o Movement, exposure

Surveillance Purpose and boundaries of surveillance

Freedom of disease or known disease status

Site, compartment or zone

Strategies – based on goals and diagnostics

Observational

Thresholds

Early disease detection system

Risk based

Enhanced routine moribund sampling

Repeated collections; seasonal

Diagnostics – sensitivity and specificity

At least 85% Se

Morbidity and Mortality Thresholds

Farm mortality Threshold 0.03% is site accepted threshold – over 5

days

69,500 fish on the farm

21 mortalities per day for 5 days

Past 5 Days on The Farm

102 mortalities TOTAL

68 morts justified

August spawn group

Post spawn recovery

Post sorting stress

Investigation & Reporting

Response

Disease investigation Triggered when site specific

thresholds are exceeded Scope depends on pathogen

and impact Diagnostics

Reporting OIE, national and state lists Appropriate officials

Contingency Planning

Pathogen and impact of pathogen

Treat? Vaccinate? Depopulate?

Debrief for lessons learned

What went wrong?

How to fix

Recovery and continuity of business

Standards 4 & 5

SSHP

Health Team

Communication

Record Keeping

Reporting

Training

Risk Evaluation

Identification and Characterization

Site Map

Management

Biosecurity Plan

Animals

Water

Feed

Vectors

Fomites

Surveillance Plan

Morbidity and Mortality Thresholds

Early Disease Detection

Strategy Type

Sampling

Diagnostics

Disease Investigation Plan

Communication

Triggers

Sampling

Testing

Response Plan

DiseaseResponse

Emergency Response

Recovery Plan

Continuity of Business

E, C, and Z

Establishment (E)

Single site with lower risk because of surveillance and biosecurity

Compartment (C)

Single site with higher standard of biosecurity and even lower risk

Claim of disease “free” status

Zone (Z)

Region around site with surveillance partners

Claim disease “free” status

E

C

Zone

E1

E2

E3

Because of Standards…

Assurance of health of farm raised aquatic animals

Lower risk for specific diseases because of biosecurity and surveillance

Claims about population health status

Facilitate animal trade and movement

Leverage international trade

Reduce hurdles for interstate movement

Marketing and branding

Increase public trust, confidence

Demonstrates awareness of standards for consumers, builds a story

Complement to other programs

Food system biosecurity and safety

Certification programs

Animal welfare

CAHPS as a Marketing Tool

Make claims about the health status Value-added animals

CAHPS compliant/certified/approved

Confidence Recognition of participation

Builds the story Care of the production animal

Security

Message

Thank You(Kathleen.H.Hartman@aphis.usda.gov)