Beef producers keep close eye on TB in Michigan

Tuesday, May 10, 2011

by BETTER FARMING STAFF

The Ontario Cattlemen’s Association is monitoring the April discovery of bovine tuberculosis in two beef herds in Michigan.

“At this point we’ve had no calls or concerns but we will be watching it,” says LeaAnne Hodgins, the association’s communications manager.

Lance Males, a New Liskeard veterinarian and president of the Ontario Association of Bovine Practitioners, says his organization hasn’t received notification from the Canadian Food Inspection Agency that Ontario herds are at risk. “They would notify us if there’s a concern,” says Males.

According to the agency’s website, there were no findings of the disease in Canada as of March 31. The last outbreak in Ontario was in a dairy cattle herd in Peterborough County in 2002.

Bovine tuberculosis is a reportable disease in Canada, which means if diagnosed it must be reported to the federal agency. The disease is spread through feces, by breathing, coughing, sneezing, and through shared feed and water. Cows can spread it to calves through colostrum or milk.

Elliot Salsberg, an epidemiologist with the agency’s animal health programs in Ontario, says the disease is always a concern to the agency and it’s for that reason that it maintains such a rigorous monitoring program, inspecting animals at federal abattoirs. If found, controls include tracking the diseased animal to its point of origin, imposing a quarantine and destroying infected and all exposed susceptible animals.

According to the agency’s website, breeding cattle imported from the U.S. must be accompanied by a certificate indicating that it is free of the disease and feeder cattle must have spent the prior 60 days in a state declared to be bovine TB free under the U.S. Department of Agriculture guidelines.

Both of the Michigan herds that are infected are located in Alpena County along Lake Huron. BF