Bovine TB leads USDA to destroy cattle herds & WASHINGTON, D.C. - Six cattle herds were infected with or exposed io bovine tuber culosis have been destroyed after the disease was found by U.S. Department of Agriculture veterinarians. John K. Atwell, deputy ad ministrator of USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, said three herds were in Alabama, two in Puerto Rico and one in Hawau. “Three Montgomery County, Alabama herds were slaughtered after infection was confirmed in one,” he said. “The other two herds were considered exposed because their cattle had termmgled with the first herd. “The largest herd, about 700 cattle, was located when a meat inspector reported lesions - m the carcass of a cow that had been sent to slaughter. The USDA followed up by testing the herd, making post mortem examination of seven Lancaster Farming, Saturday, November 7,1981-Dl5 reactors, and culturing tissues at APHIS’s National Veterinary Services Laboratories, Ames, lowa.” In this and other cases, slaughter of the entire herd is authorized when the laboratory isolates the causative bacterium, Mycobac terium bovis. Federal and state indemnities are paid to the owners to help compensate for the loss. “The second Alabama herd, with 400 animals, had formerly been part of the first when the two owners were partners,” Atwell said. “The third herd, with 200 head, was linked to the first because of a common border, intermingled grazing and breeding by a bull from the larger herd. "In Puerto Rico, we found in fection in one herd at Coamo after a meat inspector reported lesions resembling tuberculosis in a slaughtered cow. By tracing the ownership of the cow back to the herd of origin, USDA veterinarians located the herd and tuberculin tested its 57 animals. Twelve animals showed positive reactions and were destroyed. On post mortem examination, seven of the ROTEC V' A VARIETY OF AGRI-TANKS FOR CHEMICAL STORAGE, TRANSPORT & APPLICATION: • UNION CARBIDE S NEW RESIN FOR THE AGRICULTURAL ’Bo’s • CIBA-GEIGY U V STABILIZER • ALL SHAPES & SIZES • STRONG ONE-PIECE CONSTRUCTION • MADE TO LAST FOR YEARS & YEARS • 1-YEAR LIMITED (BUT NOT VERY) WARRANTY Call Today or Stop In and Let Us Solve Your Agri-Tank Needs Distributed in your area by MARTIN’S AG SERVICE R.D. 1 - Gristmill Rd. New Holland, PA 17557 PH. 717-354-4996 or 717-354-5848 Dealer Inquiries Invited 1 twelve had lesions, and we con firmed bovine tuberculosis at our lab in lowa,” Atwell said. A second Puerto Rican herd, at Naguabo, was found through surveillance testing by USDA veterinarians. This 255-head herd had previously been released from quarantine, and was being tested as a precaution. Two animals showed positive reactions to tuberculin tests and were destroyed; infection was con firmed through post mortem examination and laboratory culturing of tissues from these animals. In Hawaii, a 27-head herd was slaughtered on the island of Molokai when USDA veterinarians tested herds adjacent to an earlier bovine tuberculosis outbreak and found two reactors, one with lesions on post mortem examination. Culturing at Ames, lowa, confirmed the infection. After cattle are destroyed and removed from a premises because of tuberculosis, the premises are cleaned, disinfected, and must remain free of livestock for at least 30 days, Atwell said. READ LANCASTER FARMING FOR COMPLETE AND UP-TO-DATE MARKET REPORTS SCALES LIVESTOCK SCALES For Hog Operations TRUCK & PLATFORM SCALES ALSO AVAILABLE GARBER SCALE COMPANY 121 Witmer Rd Lancaster, Pa. 17602 Phone: 717-393-1708 ALL SCALES STATE APPROVED
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