Brucellosis Free Status for U.S. Cattle Herd
Efforts now shift focus toward elk and bison.
Compiled by staff
Published: Feb 4, 2008
For the first time since the National Brucellosis Eradication Program was started in 1934, the U.S. cattle herd is brucellosis free. The certification of Texas as Class Free means that all 50 states, the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico have achieved that status. However, Bruce Knight, under secretary for USDA Marketing and Regulatory Programs says there remains work to be done.
"We must now focus our efforts on eradicating brucellosis from the free-ranging elk and bison populations in the Greater Yellowstone Area in order to protect our national cattle herd against future outbreaks of this disease," Knight says.
Brucellosis is a bacterial disease that causes decreased milk production, weight loss, infertility, loss of young and lameness in cattle, elk and bison. The disease is contagious and can, though rarely, affect humans. There is no known treatment for brucellosis, and depopulation of infected and exposed animals is the only effective means of disease containment and eradication.
Permalink: Click here
Tagged: usda
|