Eliminating brucellosis in Wyoming’s cattle will require a multi-faceted approach, officials from several livestock and wildlife groups agreed in meetings in Powell and Cody.

Dr. Jim Logan, Wyoming state veterinarian, said last week that expanding a “designated surveillance area” to test cattle for brucellosis is one step closer to a solution. The surveillance area expanded to cover all of Park County outside Yellowstone National Park beginning Saturday.

Cows 12 months or older within the surveillance area must be vaccinated against the disease and be tested 30 days before being sold or moved outside the DSA, with exceptions for cattle moving to temporary grazing leases.

Brucellosis is a bacterial disease that can cause cattle, bison and elk to abort. It can cause undulant fever in humans through contact with infected animals during calving or while hunting. People also can contract brucellosis by drinking untreated milk.

Logan expressed frustration about lack of progress against the disease.

“This is not a new problem, a new situation,” he said, “yet not much has been done.”

Federal dollars funding brucellosis are “drying up,” Logan said, and although research continues into vaccines, “those projects are going to take years.”

Cattle and bison from Park County herds tested positive for brucellosis in the 2010. Infected animals were slaughtered and the herds were quarantined, although one herd has since been released from its quarantine. The infections — which occurred in the Meeteetse area, although state law prohibits identification of the herd owners — were believed to have come from elk.

The Wyoming Department of Game and Fish extended elk hunting seasons in the Meeteetse area through January and asked hunters to submit blood samples from their elk in hopes of harvesting more elk and creating a larger pool of blood samples for disease testing.

The Game and Fish has also written brucellosis management action plans for elk herds that use western Wyoming feed grounds. The plans outline actions that could reduce the risk of diseased elk infecting cattle or other elk. Similar plans may be crafted for Meeteetse area herds.

At an April 22 meeting of the multi-agency Wyoming Brucellosis Coordination Team in Cody, discussion targeted the actions the National Park Service or Wyoming Department of Game and Fish might take.

“I don’t know if they’re hopeful or discouraged,” he said.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture in February 2008 announced that all 50 states were brucellosis-free. That year, however, infected cattle were found in Montana and Wyoming.

Brucellosis originally came to the U.S. via livestock, which transferred it to wildlife — now, with most cattle free of the disease, the main areas of infection exist in Yellowstone elk and bison that migrate out of the park.

Members of the brucellosis team said the National Park Service has failed to address the “reservoir” of the disease in park wildlife.

Rep. Pat Childers, R-Cody, suggested governors of Wyoming, Idaho and Montana lean on Department of the Interior and Park Service officials to gain control of the disease.