INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. — On April 11, Indiana State Board of Animal Health (BOAH) members and employees will gather at the state fairgrounds for their regular quarterly meeting, which is slated to include departmental reports as well as final votes on two proposed rules.

 

At their October 2016 session, members approved the first readings of two amended pieces of legislation: rabies control of companion animals and a minor amendment regarding swine enteric coronavirus disease, or SECD. The second readings and votes were postponed from the January 2017 meeting until next week.

 

The 2016 Compendium of Animal Rabies Prevention and Control is a collection of public information on rabies written by the National Assoc. of State Public Health Veterinarians. To ensure all legislation is on the same page, BOAH rabies rules were amended. The biggest change is more options added for animals exposed to rabies-positive animals.

 

The official rule will also read that all cats, dogs and ferrets should be vaccinated for rabies at three months of age and re-vaccinated every 12 months after the prior vaccination. For vaccines recommending triennial boosters, animals should be vaccinated first at three months, again 12 months after the first vaccination and every 36 days thereafter.

 

The new rule will also be amended to incorporate an animal rabies control program to be established by the state veterinarian.

 

The program will work as an effort to detect, prevent, control and eradicate rabies. The SECD rule will amend a section to remove the definition of a “herd management plan,” which repeals another section stating the procedures for submitting such a plan to a veterinarian after a positive case of SECD is found. The amendment is necessary to match federal SECD legislation.

 

The meeting, which will begin at 9:30 a.m., is open to the public and will take place in Discovery Hall on the fairgrounds, located at 1202 E. 38th Street in Indianapolis. Call 317-544-2400 with any questions.