Brucellosis Returns to Montana
US - A cow has tested positive for brucellosis in Paradise Valley, costing Montana its brucellosis-free status.
10 June 2008
1 minute read
According to the International Herald Tribune, the infection means Montana ranchers must undergo an expensive testing program before shipping cattle out of state and will have to increase vaccinations. The state will lose its federal brucellosis-free status until it can demonstrate it has the disease under control.
Brucellosis is a disease carried by wild animals including bison and elk in the greater Yellowstone area. It can cause pregnant cows to abort their calves but transmission to humans is rare, reports the Tribune.
Consuming animals with the disease is not considered dangerous, state officials said.
In February, the U.S. Department of Agriculture declared all 50 states to be brucellosis-free in their commercial herds - the first time that had happened in 74 years.
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