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International Society for Infectious Diseases
Date: 11 Jun 2009
Source: Kansas City.com [edited]
32 herds quarantined because of bovine TB fears
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Concerns about bovine tuberculosis (TB) have led to the quarantine of
32 cattle herds with about 15 000 adult cattle in north-central
Nebraska, officials said Thu 11 Jun 2009. The bovine TB investigation
has confirmed only 2 cases of the disease in one Rock County herd,
but state Agriculture Director Greg Ibach said the other 31 herds
have been quarantined because the animals may have had fence-line
contact with the infected herd.
The 32 quarantined herds, which must all be tested for TB, are in
Rock, Holt, Loup, Boyd and Brown counties. Ibach said other herds
could be added to the quarantine if investigators learn they may have
contacted the infected herd. Testing of all the quarantined herds
will begin next week, but that will take a considerable amount of
time to complete.
"This is a process that will take months, not weeks to complete," Ibach said.
While the quarantine orders remain in place, none of the herds
included will be able to sell cattle unless they obtain a special
permit for immediate slaughter, Ibach said. About 500 cattle
producers traveled to Bassett Thursday [11 Jun 2009] for a meeting
about bovine tuberculosis with Ibach and the state veterinarian.
State officials are working with the U.S. Department of Agriculture
to investigate the TB cases and determine whether Nebraska can keep
the tuberculosis-free label its held for the past 17 years. Losing
the state's tuberculosis-free designation would put Nebraska's
roughly USD 10 billion cattle industry at a competitive disadvantage,
industry experts say.
Ibach said the owner of the herd where 2 animals tested positive has
not decided what will happen to his herd, which has been quarantined
since last week.
Bovine TB is considered untreatable, so both infected and noninfected
cattle in a herd usually are killed. The other option is continued
quarantine and testing. But an entire herd must have 8 consecutive
clean tests before the quarantine could be lifted, a process that
could take years.
Ibach said officials have not yet determined whether the sick animals
came from Nebraska or another state. Experts say tuberculosis is a
contagious disease of animals and humans, caused by 3 types of
bacteria. Bovine TB can be transmitted from livestock to humans, but
that's exceedingly rare. It can be transmitted to other animals.
"The chances of a human being contracting this disease is virtually
zero," Ibach said.
The disease is easily transmitted through a herd of cattle through
nose-to-nose contact. It causes severe coughing, fatigue, emaciation
and debilitation. The U.S. Department of Agriculture says Nebraska
started the year with 6.35 million head of cattle and calves.
The Nebraska Agriculture Department Web site address is:
[Byline: By Josh Funk]
--
Communicated by:
ProMED-mail Rapporteur Susan Baekeland
[States that find tuberculosis-positive cattle must do the
epidemiological investigation to traces the disease to its origin.
Consequently, they quarantine and test every possible herd that has
fence-line or nose-nose contact with the infected herd. Then the
officials start unraveling the mystery of animals brought into the
herd (trace-ins) that could have brought the disease as well as
animals that left the herd (trace-outs) and could have spread the
disease. So as officials undertake the laborious project, more herds
may be quarantined and tested before the source of this disease is
found. Both state and federal forces will be busy for months.
The testing of animals involves 2 injections in the neck region, and
those injections must be measured and accessed for reaction at 72
hours post injection. So in a large herd this can take considerable time.
Once an animal is tested, it cannot be re-tested for a minimum of 90
days. Consequently, it can take a herd a long time to have 8 negative
tests. And during that time, if another reactor is found, the 8
negative tests must be repeated. Consequently, it can take years to
clear a herd of possible infection. - Mod.TG
A map showing the counties in the State of Nebraska is available at:
[see alslo:
Bovine tuberculosis - USA (03): (NE) cattle, elk 20090603.2060]
....................tg/ejp/dk
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