get rid of, Salmonella pullorum from the baby chick industry. Salmonella pullorum, aka pullorum disease or white bacillary diarrhea, was a disease with mortality rates in baby chicks as high as 80 percent.
At a time when the industry was rapidly expanding, tolerating diseases such as pullorum from either a bird health viewpoint or from an economic standpoint didn’t make sense. After developing a rapid serum test in 1927that made diagnosing pullorum easier, the International Baby Chick Association, a vital part of the poultry industry at the time, worked with government officials to host a series of meetings to develop the first provisions for the plan to eradicate pullorum. In 1935, the NPIP was officially established through an Act of Congress and will turn 80 years old this year.
How does the NPIP operate?
The NPIP operates through a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Official State Agency (OSA) in each of the 49 participating states. Each OSA is responsible for assigning authorized agents to collect samples and state inspectors to perform selection and testing within the state. All decisions of the OSA are subject to review by USDA-APHIS.
Additionally, the NPIP has an executive board called the General Conference Committee (GCC). The GCC members are elected officials. Six regions of the country are represented by officials in these positions, and the one member-at-large position represents all NPIP participants. The GCC advises the Secretary of Agriculture on matters pertaining to animal health.
Every two years, the NPIP hosts a Biennial Conference. Here, delegates from each participating state come together to vote on proposed changes to incorporate the latest and best technologies available for poultry into the provisions of the plan. Experts within the scientific poultry community, such as corporate veterinarians, university professors, poultry health scientists, laboratory technicians, and backyard flock owners, attend this meeting. Their goal is to collaborate on incorporating the proposed technological advances to improve the overall poultry industry in order for trade to continue unimpeded.
If the votes pass, then the new language is incorporated into the Code of Federal Regulations through the federal rule making process. The changes are made and distributed to the states, which in turn are responsible for overseeing that the participants follow the current provisions.
Who are the participants?
The NPIP is a voluntary program. However, once a participant decides to join, he or she is required to follow the provisions as specified in the relevant section of the Code of Federal Regulations (Title 9, Parts 145, 146, 147, and 56) or as contained within the NPIP Program Standards document.
The foundation for the program was intended to be for breeding poultry since Salmonella pullorum is a "vertically" transmitted disease, meaning it can pass from adult birds to their offspring. Since the program's inception, other types of poultry besides breeding stock have been added.
Each subpart in the regulations contains definitions for participation. The NPIP has provisions for the following types of poultry: multiplier meat-type breeding flocks, meat-type primary breeding flocks, multiplier egg-type breeding flocks, primary egg-type breeding flocks, turkey breeding flocks, meat-type waterfowl breeding flocks, ratite breeding flocks (ostrich, emu, cassowary), and WEGBY breeding flocks (waterfowl, exhibition fowl, game birds, and backyard birds). Provisions are also in place for meat-type slaughter plants, turkey slaughter plants, commercial table-egg layer flocks, commercial upland game birds, commercial waterfowl, raised for release game birds, and raised for release waterfowl.
What are the benefits of participation?
There are several benefits to becoming a participant in the NPIP program. One of the most important benefits is to ensure that flocks are healthy and disease free of Plan diseases. Several diseases of breeding poultry can be transmitted vertically from the hen to her offspring, and a number of those di