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Texas achieves cattle Brucellosis-Free status
Texas beef and dairy cattle producers, cattle feeders and markets operators achieved a long-sought victory Friday, Feb. 1, when the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced that Texas has achieved cattle brucellosis-free status.
For nearly 50 years, Texas cattle producers battled brucellosis, or "Bangs Disease," the bacterial disease that is caused by Brucella abortus. The disease can cause cows to abort, deliver weak calves or produce less milk. Cattle brucellosis is a zoonotic disease (can be spread from animals to man) that caused significant human disease incidence until the eradication program reduced the incidence of the disease in cattle, and, sanitary practices and pasteurization procedures for milk were implemented to reduce transmission to humans. All other states in the United States are classified brucellosis-free, some for more than 25 years.
"Texas was the last state to achieve the 'free' status. We have more herds and more cattle than any other state-14 million at last count. We also had more brucellosis infection to fight. In 1959, when Texas officially joined the national eradication program, we had more than 20,000 of the country's 100,000 infected herds," said Dr. Bob Hillman, Texas' state veterinarian and head of the Texas Animal Health Commission (TAHC), the state's livestock and poultry health regulatory agency.
"This victory for the cattle industry did not come easily or without hardship," said Dr. Hillman. "For many cattle producers in the early days of the program, it meant losing a herd with only salvage value payment, or having the herd under quarantine and being unable to sell animals for long periods of time. Some producers' herds became re-infected. In recent years, infected herds were purchased from owners and depopulated whenever possible, to quickly wipe out infection."
"Now we must ensure that the disease is not reintroduced, or if it is lingering undetected, we must find the infection and eradicate it quickly. If two infected herds are detected within the next two years, we could lose this hard-earned, well-deserved status, so we must do everything to protect the health of our herds," said Dr. Hillman.
"Decades of hard work are now paying off with this incredible accomplishment. I commend the cattle industry of the state and the Texas Animal Health Commission for working together to establish Texas as cattle brucellosis-free," Texas Agriculture Commissioner Todd Staples said.
"Texas ranks first in the nation in the number of cattle and calves and the industry is a $16 billion business for the Texas economy. This new status will positively improve the industry and help our dedicated cattle producers," Commissioner Staples said.
"This tremendous achievement could not have been accomplished without the combined efforts of state and federal agencies and industry," said Bruce Knight, Under Secretary for USDA's marketing and regulatory programs mission area. The interim rule declaring Texas as brucellosis free was published in the Feb. 1 Federal Register and became effective upon publication.
"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," said Under Secretary Knight. He said the presence of brucellosis in free-ranging bison and elk in Yellowstone National Park and Grand Teton
National Park still threatens cattle health in surrounding states.
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