Insurance, Interstate, and Prepurchase Health Examinations
The complete physical examination as described in the preceding sections is necessary for a proper prepurchase or insurance examination. For insurance purposes a more complete accounting of the examination must be done.
This means that all findings, whether normal or abnormal, have to be recorded. A specific form is generally provided by the insuring agent, and this should be used. Potential for future legal action also exists whenever an animal is insured; therefore it is in the practitioner's best interest to complete the insurance form accurately.The prepurchase examination is similar to the insurance examination. The physical examination form (see Fig. 1.2) can be used to record findings. The prepurchase examination could be performed on the highly pedigreed female that is being consigned to sale, but it is more often performed on the male scheduled for use as an artificial insemination stud. Occasionally one could be asked to examine an animal under consideration for purchase. Experience indicates that the veterinarian should be employed by the potential buyer in these cases. This arrangement avoids any potential accusations of conflict of interest on the part of the examining veterinarian. A complete blood count and a chemistry panel should be run. Generally it is prudent to certify that the animal is healthy and to test for tuberculosis, brucellosis, and bovine leukosis (using agar gel immunodiffusion). Additional laboratory tests for anaplasmosis and bluetongue may be indicated. Often an animal being consigned to sale or one going into artificial insemination service is required to meet federal regulations for interstate shipment. This information can be obtained from the federal veterinarian in charge in your area or from the office of the state veterinarian in the state of destination.
A problem arises when the number of animals submitted for interstate health examination is large.
Economic and temporal constraints usually preclude complete examination of all the animals presented. At such times the visual examination described earlier can prove helpful in determining which animals are to be singled out for the more complete physical examination. The examination of individuals is less complete than for prepurchase or insurance examinations because such factors as fertility are not at issue when filling out an interstate health certificate. Choosing animals with abnormalities in behavior, physical condition, gait, or posture allows the practitioner to concentrate on those that have the most potential to be diseased. Also, one can be fairly confident that if all the animals appear normal on the general examination, they are healthy and would be suitable for interstate shipment as long as the results of the intradermal tuberculosis test and required serologic tests prove negative. To sign an interstate health certificate, a veterinarian must be accredited and licensed in a state. It is essential that a veterinarian signing an interstate health certificate has examined the livestock sufficiently and diligently enough to be confident that no infectious or contagious diseases are present in the consigned group. A call should be placed to the office of the state veterinarian in the state of destination to be sure that all current requirements are fulfilled before shipment is scheduled.