Dateline: February 7, 2008

Texas achieves cattle brucellosis-free status

Texas beef and dairy cattle producers, cattle feeders and markets operators achieved a long-sought victory Friday, February 1, when the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced that Texas has achieved cattle brucellosis-free status.

For nearly 50 years, Texas cattle producers battled brucellosis, or “Bangs Disease,” the bacterial disease that is caused by Brucella abortus. The disease can cause cows to abort, deliver weak calves, or produce less milk.

All other states in the United States are classified brucellosis-free, some for more than 25 years.

“Texas was the last state to achieve the ‘free’ status. We have more herds and more cattle than any other state - ­14 million at last count. We also had more brucellosis infection to fight. In 1959, when Texas officially joined the national eradication program, we had more than 20,000 of the country’s 100,000 infected herds,” said Dr. Bob Hillman, Texas’ state veterinarian and head of the Texas Animal Health Commission (TAHC), the state’s livestock and poultry health regulatory agency.

“This victory for the cattle industry did not come easily or without hardship,” said Dr. Hillman. “For many cattle producers in the early days of the program, it meant losing a herd with only salvage value payment, or having the herd under quarantine and being unable to sell animals for long periods of time. Some producers’ herds became re-infected. In recent years, infected herds were purchased from owners and depopulated whenever possible, to quickly wipe out infection.”

“Hearing the words ‘cattle brucellosis-free’ is music to the industry’s ears,” said Mr. Ernie Morales, Chairman of the Texas Animal Health Commission (TAHC).