The Nebraska Department of Agriculture Director Steve Wellman recently announced that the epidemiological into a bovine tuberculosis positive cow in a beef cattle herd in wheeler county remains in progress.
The infection was originally discovered after an investigation extending from an infected herd in South Dakota.
Cooperation between state and federal agencies, along with the cooperation of the owner, allowed us to quickly quarantine the herd and begin the epidemiological investigation to trace the movement of cattle into and out of the herd, said Wellman. Fortunately, our investigation found no cattle had fence-line contact with the infected herd. At this time no testing of neighboring herds will be necessary.
The infected herd will remain under quarantine until all testing is finalized, verifying additional infection is not present.
We continue to trace and quarantine cattle that were dispersed from the herd earlier this year, said Wellman. It appears that the dispersed cattle are all currently in feedlot settings, where they will remain until harvest.
TB is a slow, progressive disease and is difficult to diagnose in the early stages; however, as the disease progresses, animals can exhibit emaciation, lethargy, weakness, anorexia, low-grade fever and pneumonia with a chronic, moist cough. If producers see symptoms similar to these in their herd, they should contact their local veterinarian.
Further information, including FAQ sheets on TB can be found on the NDA Website’s press release.