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The pre-sale testing is required under state rules. The heifers were from a herd within Wyoming's designated surveillance area, which includes areas of Park County west of Wyo. 120.
State law prohibits officials from identifying the owner of the …
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Brucellosis has been found in cattle from a second Park County herd.Jim Logan, Wyoming state veterinarian, announced last week that the bacterial disease was detected after 12 heifers were tested before being sold.
The pre-sale testing is required under state rules. The heifers were from a herd within Wyoming's designated surveillance area, which includes areas of Park County west of Wyo. 120.
State law prohibits officials from identifying the owner of the herd.
Logan was unavailable for comment on Monday. Assistant State Veterinarian Bob Meyer did not return calls for comment by press time Monday.
Brucellosis can cause cattle, bison and elk to abort calves and can cause undulant fever in people. Most recent cases in states adjoining Yellowstone National Park have come from infected elk.
Officials from USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service has designated this herd as an “affected herd.” Logan said in the release that the Wyoming Livestock Board quarantined the affected herd and one adjacent herd. Testing continues this week on the affected herd and adjacent herds in attempt to determine whether any more cows are infected.
In a release, Logan said last week that this case is not related to the earlier case detected in October. Both cases appear to be associated with exposure to free ranging elk, although the investigation continues, Logan said in the release.
Logan said two of the 12 tested heifers showed an elevated titer for brucellosis. One of these animals was euthanized on Nov. 10, and tissue samples were collected and delivered to the Wyoming State Veterinary Laboratory and the National Veterinary Services Laboratory for bacteriology. The remaining animals from the group and approximately 250 additional herd mates were tested and 18 of these animals were classified as brucellosis reactors.
On Wednesday, the national vet lab issued a final report stating that Brucella abortus Biovar 1 was isolated from the tissues submitted on Nov. 10.
Logan said in the release that USDA-APHIS West Region officials told him that Wyoming is not in jeopardy of losing its brucellosis-free status as long as the state appropriately handles cases that arise.
