> This is surprising, since virtually every colony in North America is infested by varroa.  Who is supposed to be reporting this fact to whom?

Yes it is. As I commented earlier, this is another example of bureaucrats taking over the world. OIE listed those bee diseases as reportable and the USDA is following in lock step. This was mailed to departments in every state, and was forwarded to bee inspectors in those states that still have them:


National Animal Health Reporting System (NAHRS) Participants,
 
The NAHRS Web Reporting tool is now available for data entry for CY 2013. The diseases listed in the reporting tool were recently updated to correlate with the U.S. National List of Reportable Animal Diseases (NLRAD) (attached 2013 NLRAD NAHRS list).  The development of the NLRAD has been a deliberate and collaborative process in which many of you have been directly involved. 
 
The NLRAD is based on the list of NAHRS diseases that you have routinely reported through the NAHRS Web Reporting tool. This list was expanded to include:
 
·         A few other OIE-listed diseases that were not already on the NAHRS list, most of them foreign animal diseases (FADs)
o   OIE-listed diseases associated with four new commodity/species groups:  Farmed Cervids, Lagomorphs, Amphibians, and Bees (Apiary)
·         Four non-OIE listed diseases considered to be FADs for the United States (akabane, melioidosis (Burkholderia pseudomallei), hendra, and vesicular exanthema of swine).
·         The addition of swine erysipelas to swine diseases
·         All of the aquaculture diseases listed in the U.S. National Aquatic Animal Health Plan

Development of reporting criteria or full case definitions is progressing for all diseases on the NLRAD.  You can find reporting criteria for diseases by using the NAHRS Web Reporting tool (scroll over the disease number) and on the NLRAD NAHRS Web site:  http://www.aphis.usda.gov/animal_health/nahrs/ .

We recognize that reporting disease occurrence for some of the NLRAD diseases may present challenges and will be a “work in progress”– especially those that may not be monitored through your State’s agriculture or veterinary units. To the extent possible, we encourage you to network with resources available in your State to provide accurate occurrence information about all diseases on the NLRAD.  If you have any questions about NLRAD disease reporting, please contact me.
 
Thank you for your participation in the NAHRS and a special thanks to those involved in developing the NLRAD.

Stan D. Bruntz DVM MPH
National Surveillance Unit (NSU)
USDA APHIS VS CEAH
2150 Centre Ave, Bldg B
Fort Collins, CO 80526 USA
tel: (970)494-7246; cell: (970)420-6811
fax: (970)494-7174
email: [log in to unmask]

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