Brucellosis Program

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I don't know where the Gov gets his insight that the buffalo or elk at Yellowstone probably didn't play a part...Last time I was thru there, Emigrant was just north of the park- and that whole Paradise Valley was a travel way for Yellowstone wildlife :roll:

But this sure shows why we need to keep on USDA's rear and keep them from dropping the ball on the Brucellosis program- and why the cattlemens groups have been so up in arms about their plans to drop it...

USDA keeps saying they will not need it with their magic "mandatory ID" plan...

Maybe they better go tag a bunch of those buffalo and elk of theirs if its the magic cure...
;-)


"R-CALF USA supports mandatory Brucellosis testing of bison in the Yellowstone Ecosystem; working toward the eradication of Brucellosis in bison in said ecosystem by multiple means, including but not limited to: trapping, testing and vaccinating bison in that area.

"R-CALF USA supports the implementation of human management practices by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the National Parks & Wildlife Service that would control the size of both the bison and elk herds in said vicinity.

"The R-CALF USA Animal Health Committee also requests the Board of Directors to implement policy to request that USDA continue Brucellosis testing, vaccination, and surveillance in states where such action already occurs, and to implement Brucellosis surveillance in all other states where cattle are present but no formal testing program is in place, and to fund all such programs.

"Maintain a nationwide Brucellosis surveillance/vaccination program, which would be a means to provide a proven method of Animal ID for livestock disease traceback purposes, with minimal financial burden or recordkeeping burdens on independent U.S. livestock producers and related livestock marketing facilities.

"We recommend that USDA funds presently appropriated for an Animal ID program be redirected to fund ongoing and existing Brucellosis surveillance/vaccination programs."

R-CALF USA President/Region VI Director Max Thornsberry, a Missouri veterinarian who chairs the group's animal health committee, said he is pleased these two resolutions have been overwhelmingly adopted by the membership.




State's brucellosis-free status at risk
Infection traced to Bridger herd; if next test is positive, state faces long recovery
By JAN FALSTAD
Of The Gazette Staff

Seven Montana cows have tested positive for brucellosis, and if at least two cows from a separate herd near Emigrant test positive next week, Montana will lose its brucellosis-free status.

That means Montana ranchers would have to pay to test all adult cattle being shipped out of state until Montana can regain its brucellosis-free status.

Gov. Brian Schweitzer said he expects the second set of tests results as early as Tuesday.

"There is a process you go through - rounding up cattle, drawing blood, testing it and then it's either 'Whew!' or 'Oh, my God,' " Schweitzer said. The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) is in charge of controlling the disease. APHIS rules say that a state loses its brucellosis-free status when at least two cows from two herds test positive within 12 months.

On May 1, 51 Angus cows bound for Iowa were tested for brucellosis in Baker. Because Montana is a brucellosis-free state, the cows wouldn't normally be tested. But because the cows were going to be surrogate mothers, the tests were conducted.

On May 4, the Montana State Lab in Bozeman found that one cow tested positive for brucellosis. That cow was euthanized and tissue cultures were re-tested at the National Veterinary Services lab in Ames, Iowa, which conducts the testing for APHIS.

The infected cow was traced back to a herd of 301 cows in Bridger, and that herd was quarantined after six more cows tested positive for brucellosis.

Brucellosis is a contagious disease in ruminant animals that can cause fetuses to abort.

The Bridger cattle came from a ranch near Emigrant, Schweitzer said. A second herd in the Paradise Valley is being tested now.

To prevent the spread of brucellosis from bison to area cattle, officials from the Montana Department of Livestock have hazed wandering Yellowstone National Park bison back into the park. Last year, more than 1,000 bison that ranged onto private lands in Montana were captured, and most were sent to slaughter.

However, the governor said information he has received indicates that bison aren't to blame.

"It seems almost impossible this was a direct transmission from Yellowstone bison to cattle. It could have been it came from elk," Schweitzer said. "Or it could have been someone shipping cattle into Montana from some infected herd in Texas or Mexico."

Jeremy Seidlitz, executive director of the Montana Cattlemen's Association, expressed concern but said he feels helpless for now.

"I really don't think there is anything we can do but watch and hope," Seidlitz said. "Losing the brucellosis-free status is very expensive in terms of money and time."

Brucellosis is considered one of the most serious livestock diseases, primarily affecting cattle, swine, bison and elk.

Ranchers, veterinarians and workers in slaughterhouses are most at risk for the human strain, called undulant fever.

Montana has been brucellosis-free since June 1985. Wyoming found brucellosis in its cattle in 2004 and regained its brucellosis-free status last September.

Currently, Idaho and Texas are the only states without a brucellosis-free rating.

Testing costs from $5 to $10 per animal, depending on whether the tests are conducted at the ranch or elsewhere, said Ray Randall, who owns Bridger Veterinary Service.

"It's a significant problem," he said. "The last time I remember having a brucellosis-positive herd was in the '70s."

Randall said he hasn't taken any blood tests for brucellosis yet.

Even if the second herd tests free of the disease, the 301 cows quarantined near Bridger must be slaughtered, according to APHIS rules. There is no immediate financial help for the owner.

Indemnity funds exist for ranchers who lose livestock to wolves, but not this disease, Seidlitz said, adding that he's never heard of brucellosis insurance.

Schweitzer said the bad news is reason to adopt his plan to test all cattle within a ring around Yellowstone National Park.

He has proposed to APHIS that Montana be allowed to mark off an area of 60 to 70 miles around Yellowstone National Park and require that all the cattle moving in and out of the zone be tested. If the disease shows up, only that zone would lose its brucellosis-free status, not the whole state.

"We would have caught it at its source," the governor said. "Now we're in a position where people long removed from Yellowstone Basin are being painted with the same brush."

Meanwhile, APHIS spokeswoman Teresa Howes in Fort Collins, Colo., said tracing back and testing cattle is a long process, one that's just starting in Montana.

"The good news is that this was found and it didn't go on to infect the national herd," she said. "Now we're doing the investigation to make sure no other herds are infected."

http://www.billingsgazette.net/articles ... llosis.txt
 
5/23/2007 10:29:00 AM


USCA Urges USDA & Interior Department To Implement Wildlife Brucellosis Control



San Lucas, Calif. (May 23, 2007)--The U.S. Cattlemen's Association (USCA), during a board of directors meeting on Monday, May 21, unanimously approved a resolution calling on the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Department of the Interior to undertake an aggressive, long-term brucellosis control and eradication program related to bison, elk and moose in Yellowstone National Park. The U.S. Cattlemen's Association is urging both agencies to implement an indemnification program to compensate ranchers for losses suffered as a result of infection by wildlife.


On May 21, federal animal health officials announced a second Montana cattle herd was being tested for the highly contagious disease. The herd is located in Paradise Valley near Emigrant, Montana. If laboratory tests confirm the disease, Montana's brucellosis-free status could be revoked and the financial ramifications to Montana's billion dollar-a-year livestock industry would be severe.



The second suspect herd follows confirmation on May 16 that seven cows from a herd located near Bridger, Montana were diagnosed with brucellosis.



Bison numbers within the park exceed forage production, causing over-grazing and migration of infected bison, elk and moose from the park's boundaries.



"Cattle producers have worked for more than half a century at enormous cost to eradicate brucellosis in cattle herds across the country," said Chuck Kiker, Texas, USCA's Animal Health Committee chairman. "One of the greatest risks of infection for cattle today is exposure to infected ruminant wildlife. An investigation is underway in Montana by federal and state animal health officials, and it's important to let that play out. However, evidence demonstrates that the region surrounding Yellowstone National Park is a consistent hot-bed for brucellosis outbreaks threatening an entire sector of the economy. It is incumbent upon the Department of the Interior and USDA to take an aggressive approach that will lead to total eradication of this disease."



Cattle infected with brucellosis have high incidences of abortion or calve weak offspring and often retain placental tissues. Bulls can carry the bacteria in their reproductive tract. The most common route of infection is through direct contact with infected animals or with an environment that has been contaminated with discharges from infected animals. Aborted fetuses, placental membranes, and vaginal discharges are all highly contaminated with the bacteria. There is no cure for the disease. Under USDA rules, infected animals must be de-populated.



In Wyoming, four herds located near the park tested positive for brucellosis in 2004, resulting in revocation of the state's brucellosis-free status. Idaho lost its brucellosis-free status in 2005. USDA admits that the herds in Wyoming and Idaho were most likely infected by elk.



"The U.S. Cattlemen's Association urges the Department of Interior and USDA to indemnify ranchers for losses suffered as a result of herds being infected by wildlife," noted Kiker. "The financial losses for individual ranching operations affected by this disease could be catastrophic, to say nothing of the negative economic impact on the entire livestock industry within an affected state."
 

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