12/28/05 Brucellosis status to change

Idaho has been Brucellosis-free since 1991 but that's about to change. The State Department of Agriculture expects USDA to designate the state as Brucellosis Class-A which will mean increased testing of certain cattle that move out of state. USDA's Animal Plant Health Inspection Service officials say federal regulations are inflexible once a second herd with a brucellosis reactor is discovered; the federal government is required to reduce the state's status. The change in designation follows the October discovery of brucellosis in a Swan Valley cattle herd. Later, a heifer from that herd was traced to a small feedlot near Arco but ISDA's John Chatburn felt that heifer was still part of the original group. CHATBURN "Since that calf was less than a year old, was being fed for slaughter, had never been exposed to a bull, and subsequently was not pregnant and could not spread the disease that calf should still be considered part of the original herd." 17 other cattle in the small Arco feedlot had been vaccinated and tested negative for brucellosis. They were also sent to slaughter earlier this month. Idaho can apply to regain its Brucellosis-Free status if no new cases emerge after one year. The disease primarily affects cattle, elk and bison. Today's Idaho Ag News Bill Scott