June 12, 2008

 

Brucellosis re-emerges in Montana

 

Officials in Montana are expanding their investigation to find out how brucellosis entered a ranch in the state and whether neighbouring herds were affected.

 

Brucellosis is a disease that causes pregnant cows to abort their calves.

 

The disease has been largely eradicated from livestock in the United States. A case of Brucellosis in May last year in the same state caused a herd of 300 cattle to be killed.

 

Monday's case occured near the town of Pray in Paradise Valley, reports the San Diego Union Tribune.

 

Testing performed at the National Animal Disease Center in Ames, Ia., confirmed the presence of the brucella abortus bacterium, the causative agent of brucellosis, in the cow. None of the other animals in the Paradise Valley herd tested positive, according to livestock officials.

 

They say the infected cow came from the ranch of Art Burns, who said Tuesday (June 12, 2008) that he was aware of the potential dangers of running cattle near the nation's last reservoir of brucellosis. Pray is about 30 miles north of Yellowstone National Park. The first case of brucellosis was disovered there in 1917 and the disease has established a chronic presence there since then.

 

Although the diseased cow has been destroyed, the discovery will cost the state its federal brucellosis-free status.

 

That will force livestock producers across Montana to undergo costly disease testing and possibly a vaccination programme.

 

Experts say existing vaccines are only about 60 percent to 70 percent effective.

 

The change in the state's brucellosis-free status will occur in four to eight weeks, or as soon as the downgrade can be listed in the Federal Register, Livestock officials said.

State veterinarian Marty Zaluski said the loss of brucellosis-free status is particularly frustrating given efforts by livestock producers and the industry to mitigate risks and increase disease surveillance.

 

Montana's governor Brian Schweitzer has previously asked for split-state status on the issue of brucellosis testing which would have set the area near Yellowstone Park apart from the rest of the state. If it had been implemented, less than 5 percent of the state's cattle would have been affected in this new change of status. However, his proposal was opposed by some cattlemen groups.