October 4, 2006

Texas gains bovine TB accredited-free status from USDA

Texas has been accredited-free from bovine tuberculosis (TB), the USDA announced last week.

The USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service is changing its bovine tuberculosis (TB) regulations by raising Texas's TB designation from modified accredited advanced to accredited free through an interim rule.

Texas has demonstrated that it had no infected cattle or bison herds and has had no significant findings of TB in any cattle or bison herds in the last two years. Thus the state had met the criteria for gaining the accredited-free status, the USDA said.

The new classification allows cattle or bison from Texas to be moved interstate without restriction.

Bovine TB is a contagious disease that affects cattle, bison, deer, and other warm-blooded species. TB in infected animals causes weight loss weakness and can be fatal.

The interim rule is open to comments before Dec 4.