031216 Infected Wyoming Cattle Herd Spurs Worry

Cheyenne, WY - A herd of cattle in western Wyoming's Upper Green River Basin is infected with brucellosis, prompting concern that other states might ban shipments of Wyoming cattle.

The infected herd is near Boulder in Sublette County, about 100 miles south of Yellowstone National Park and next to a state feed ground where elk have been known to have brucellosis.

Neighboring cattle herds have been tested, and officials are awaiting results to determine the extent of the infection.

Wyoming Gov. Dave Freudenthal said he is extremely concerned about the possible impact on Wyoming's livestock industry. The federal government has classified the state brucellosis-free since 1985.

Colorado officials already have prohibited any Sublette County, northern Lincoln County or Teton County cattle from coming into Colorado. Freudenthal said that no other states to his knowledge have taken action against Wyoming's livestock.

Colorado's state veterinarian, Wayne Cunningham, said his state's feedlots and rangelands receive large numbers of cattle from Wyoming.

"We get a lot of cows and we get a number of cow herds coming here to graze for the winter on corn stalks," he said. "Until we know what the extent is, we feel it's very prudent to stop movement from there. ... It's incumbent upon us to protect that livestock population within Colorado."

Idaho had a similar scare in April 2002, the last time cattle in the United States were known to have contracted the disease, but Idaho State Veterinarian Clarence Siroky said no sanctions are planned against Wyoming. However, he said officials will be watching more closely for the disease in Idaho.

"We're going to turn the screws up to make sure we're increasing our surveillance," he said.

Sam Holland, state veterinarian for South Dakota, said the finding is a concern and he is awaiting further information before making any determination on possible sanctions.

Animal health officials drew blood samples from the Boulder herd, estimated at 400 head, Tuesday and Wednesday. The herd has been quarantined and will be slaughtered to prevent the disease's spread.

Officials did not name the rancher who owns the herd.

Brucellosis is a bacterial disease that can spread among and cause abortions in bison, elk and cattle.

Though rare in humans, it is potentially debilitating and can be transmitted by drinking unpasteurized milk or handling infected cows. People who contract the disease typically are veterinary workers, hunters and butchers.

Since 1934, the U.S. Department of Agriculture has enforced standards to protect cattle from brucellosis, including vaccination, testing and slaughter of infected animals. The ailment has been nearly eliminated from the nation's livestock, although it survives in wild elk and bison in the Yellowstone region, where cattle also graze.

Wyoming State Veterinarian Jim Logan said USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service has not yet designated the Boulder herd as infected because officials are awaiting additional test results from a lab in Ames, Iowa. Those results are expected by Wednesday.

If the inspection service designates the herd as infected, the state has 60 days to test all herds that had fence-line or physical contact with the infected herd.

"All it takes is one more cow in one more herd and our (brucellosis-free) status is gone immediately," he said.

According to federal policy, if cattle are found to carry the disease in a state that has been certified brucellosis-free, the state's classification may be downgraded and ranchers could be prohibited from interstate transport of cattle.

Other states would likely require testing of all cattle destined to go out of state, which would be expensive for producers, Logan said.

"I think it's safe to say there will be significant implications from this case, and other states will probably put some pressure on us," he said.

An estimated $3.5 billion in federal, state and private funds have been spent on efforts to eliminate brucellosis since the 1930s.

The disease was first noted in the Greater Yellowstone Area in 1917 and has been a chronic presence there since, but efforts to eradicate it have failed in part because vaccines are not completely effective.

The malady can be passed between animals through contact with infected aborted fetuses or afterbirth, or to calves through nursing.

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