Day: April 27, 2009

Preliminary test results indicate that a dairy in west Texas is infected with cattle tuberculosis (TB). Cattle TB is caused by theMycobacterium bovis bacteria and can cause internal lesions in animals.  Milk from commercial dairies is pasteurized, killing bacteria with heat, so there is not public health concern from this herd detection. “Animals from the 2,600-head dairy were being prepared for sale and some reacted to TB skin tests. The follow-up blood tests on these animals also were positive,” said Dr. Bob Hillman, Texas state  veterinarian and executive director of the Texas Animal Health Commission, the state’s

The Texas Animal Health Commission (TAHC) has released from temporary preventive quarantine more than 375,000 acres in Maverick, Dimmit and Webb counties.  The preventive quarantine had been imposed on the three counties more than a year ago to prevent the spread of dangerous cattle fever ticks.  Further south in Zapata and Starr counties, however, more fever tick-infested ranches are being detected at a disturbing rate, and concerns remain for sustainable fever tick program funding, fever tick surveillance and the approval of new products for treating fever tick hosts. Cattle fever ticks are capable of carrying and transmitting