July 9, 2009
More bovine TB discovered
Deer with disease bought in Franklin Co.
BY PAM THARP
CORRESPONDENT
More cases of bovine tuberculosis have been identified by the Indiana Board of Animal Health, a disease outbreak that will cost some counties money.
The Indiana Board of Animal Health announced this week that red deer on a Harrison County cervid farm tested positive for bovine TB. The deer were purchased from the northern Franklin County cervid farm where the disease was first found in cervids in May.
Last month, an elk on a Wayne County hobby farm tested positive for bovine TB. That animal also came from the Franklin County cervid farm.
Bovine TB is a chronic, infectious bacterial disease that affects primarily cattle but can be passed to any warm-blooded animal, including humans. Cervid is a category of animals that includes elk and various deer species.
USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service is destroying the Franklin County cervid herd this week, said APHIS spokesperson Cindy Ragin. The 80-animal herd included elk and red, fallow and sika deer, she said.
The farm's owners, whose names were not released, are eligible for payment by USDA for the destroyed livestock, Ragin said.
The payment is based on fair market value and can't exceed $3,000 per animal. A decision on the future of the other cervid herds is pending.
"We are awaiting a decision on the two remaining herds, including the one in Wayne County, while we conduct an epidemiological investigation of those herds," Ragin said.
The state Board of Animal Health will conduct additional bovine TB testing of cattle in Franklin, Union and Fayette counties estimated to cost a total of $73,000. The counties are required by law to pay for the tests. Cattle being tested are located within a 3-mile radius of the Franklin County cervid farm, said BOAH spokesperson Janelle Thompson.
No additional cattle testing has been ordered in Wayne County at this time, state veterinarian Dr. Kelly Peterson said. BOAH is continuing its investigation of the TB-infected cervid herd in Wayne County, she said.
Franklin County received a contract from BOAH to test 2,650 cattle in 132 herds at a cost of $31,680, auditor Susan Jones said. Like most other counties, Franklin had only $1,000 in its budget for animal testing, she said.
The commissioners agreed to put $31,680 in the 2010 budget for animal testing, Jones said. The commissioners didn't sign the contract with BOAH because it asked the county attorney to research the law and determine if owners of infected livestock can be held liable for the testing costs, Jones said.
The state will test 44 cattle in three herds in Union County at a cost of $528. Union County commissioners on Monday signed a contract for the testing.
Fayette County got the biggest bill -- $40,800 to test 3,400 cattle in 170 herds. Fayette's commissioners questioned whether there were that many cattle in the entire county, auditor Mary Hiers said.
The commissioners approved the contract but decided not to include the funds in the 2010 budget.
"We'll wait until we have actual numbers of cattle tested," Hiers said. "Then we'll ask for an additional appropriation."
Additional Facts
INDIANA STILL CLASSIFIED AS 'BOVINE TB-FREE'
• The Harrison County cervid herd marks the third herd declared to be infected, but because all three farms are linked, it's classified as a single case, according to USDA guidelines.
• Indiana's bovine TB-free status for cattle and bison remains unaffected because cervids are a different species group than cattle. Only when two unrelated cases of bovine tuberculosis are identified in cattle within 48 months will the state's status change. The status is important because it can affect interstate livestock shipments.
• The Franklin County herd from which a TB-positive beef cow was traced in December 2008 was not declared to be a TB-positive herd by USDA. The herd was fully tested two times over 60 days and did not yield any positive animals.
Source: Indiana Board of Animal Health
