(1) Effective January 1, 2011, accredited veterinarians may not perform official trichomoniasis testing of bulls in Washington state until they are certified to do so by having successfully completed training and passed a proficiency examination provided by the department.

(2) All official trichomoniasis testing of bulls in Washington state shall be performed by a certified, accredited veterinarian.

(3) Information on training opportunities is available by contacting the department at:

Washington State Department of Agriculture

Animal Services Division

1111 Washington Street S.E.

P.O. Box 42577

Olympia, Washington 98504-2577

Email: ahealth@agr.wa.gov

Phone: 360-902-1878

(4) Certified veterinarians shall utilize only official laboratories recognized by the state veterinarian for testing trichomoniasis samples. Positive test results will be sent to the department by the next business day.

(5)(a) Quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) is the test method for official tests accepted by the department.

(b) An official test is one in which the sample is collected by a certified veterinarian and received in the official laboratory in good condition within forty-eight hours of collection. Samples in transit for more than forty-eight hours or have been frozen or exposed to high temperatures will not be accepted for official testing. All samples shipped to the laboratory must be in a transport medium approved by the testing laboratory. All sampling will be obtained by pipette scrapings from the prepuce and glans of a bull.

(6) Each sampled bull shall have a current-year Washington trichomoniasis tag and a USDA-approved official identification tag applied. If a bull already bears an official identification tag at the time of sampling, the individual identification number on that device shall be recorded. Both tag numbers should be recorded on the laboratory submission form so that testing and results can be verified by either number. Additional official individual identification must not be applied.

(7) A trichomoniasis testing year is defined as September 1st through August 31st.