Animal and Plant Health Inspection Sen/ice, USDA 



§161.3 



(a) An accredited veterinarian shall 

 not issue a certificate, form, record or 

 report which reflects the results of any 

 inspection, test, vaccination or treat- 

 ment performed by him or her with re- 

 spect to any animal, other than those 

 in regular health maintenance pro- 

 grams, unless he or she has personally 

 inspected that animal within 10 days 

 prior to issuance. Inspections under 

 this paragraph must be conducted in a 

 location that allows the accredited vet- 

 erinarian sufficient space to observe 

 the animal in such a manner as to de- 

 tect abnormalities related to areas 

 such as, but not limited to, loco- 

 motion, body excretion, respiration, 

 and skin conditions. An accredited vet- 

 erinarian shall examine such an animal 

 showing abnormalities, in order to de- 

 termine whether or not there is clin- 

 ical evidence compatible with the pres- 

 ence or absence of a communicable dis- 

 ease. 



(1) Following the first two inspec- 

 tions of a herd or flock as part of a reg- 

 ular health maintenance program, an 

 accredited veterinarian shall not issue 

 a certificate, form, record or report 

 which reflects the results of any in- 

 spection, test, vaccination or treat- 

 ment performed by him or her with re- 

 spect to any animal in that program, 

 unless he or she has personally in- 

 spected that animal within 10 days 

 prior to issuance. 



(2) Following the third and subse- 

 quent inspections of a herd or flock in 

 a regular health maintenance program, 

 an accredited veterinarian shall not 

 issue a certificate, form, record or re- 

 port which reflects the results of any 

 inspection, test, vaccination or treat- 

 ment performed by him or her with re- 

 spect to any animal in that program, 

 unless he or she has personally in- 

 spected that animal within 30 days 

 prior to issuance. 



(b) An accredited veterinarian shall 

 not issue, or allow to be used, any cer- 

 tificate, form, record or report, until, 

 and unless, it has been accurately and 

 fully completed, clearly identifying the 

 animals to which it applies, and show- 

 ing the dates and results of any inspec- 

 tion, test, vaccination, or treatment 

 the accredited veterinarian has con- 

 ducted, except as provided in paragraph 

 (c) of this section, and the dates of 



issuance and expiration of the docu- 

 ment. Certificates, forms, records, and 

 reports shall be valid for 30 days fol- 

 lowing the date of inspection of the 

 animal identified on the document, ex- 

 cept that origin health certificates 

 may be valid for a longer period of 

 time as provided in § 91.3(a) of this 

 chapter. The accredited veterinarian 

 must distribute copies of certificates, 

 forms, records, and reports according 

 to instructions issued to him or her by 

 the Veterinarian-in-Charge. 



(c) An accredited veterinarian shall 

 not issue any certificate, form, record, 

 or report which reflects the results of 

 any inspection, test, vaccination, or 

 treatment performed by another ac- 

 credited veterinarian, unless: 



(1) The signing accredited veteri- 

 narian has exercised reasonable care, 

 that is, a standard of care that a rea- 

 sonably prudent person would use 

 under the circumstances in the course 

 of performing professional duties, to 

 determine that the certificate, form, or 

 report is accurate; 



(2) The certificate, form, or report in- 

 dicates that the inspection, test, vac- 

 cination, or treatment was performed 

 by the other accredited veterinarian; 

 identifies the other accredited veteri- 

 narian by name; and includes the date 

 and the place where such inspection, 

 test, or vaccination was performed; 

 and, 



(3) For a certificate, form, or report 

 indicating results of a laboratory test, 

 the signing accredited veterinarian 

 shall keep a copy of the certificate, 

 form, or report and shall attach to it 

 either a copy of the test results issued 

 by the laboratory, or a written record 

 (including date and participants' 

 names) of a conversation between the 

 signing accredited veterinarian and the 

 laboratory confirming the test results. 



(d) An accredited veterinarian shall 

 perform official tests, inspections, 

 treatments, and vaccinations and shall 

 submit specimens to designated labora- 

 tories in accordance with Federal and 

 State regulations and instructions 

 issued to the accredited veterinarian 

 by the Veterinarian-in-Charge. 



(e) An accredited veterinarian shall 

 identify or be physically present to su- 

 pervise the identification of reactor 



879 



13-5 



