A Colorado rodeo bull has undergone a necropsy to determine whether it carried bovine tuberculosis as part of an investigation that so far has found one other animal testing positive for the disease.
A finding of bovine tuberculosis could result in the state’s losing its tuberculosis-free accreditation. If that occurs, cattle producers would be required to perform costly tests on their herds before they could ship their products.
Tests are expected to be completed next week.
“What it amounts to is, we would, as a state, have to institute a higher level of testing to move animals from state to state, and there is an economic impact to that,” said Terry Fankhauser, executive vice president of the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association.
Bull in a dozen states
Infected cattle must be found in two or more separate herds before the U.S. Department of Agriculture can yank a state’s TB Accredited Free State status, Fankhauser said.
Colorado Agriculture Department spokeswoman Christi Lightcap said the bull now being tested was found in a separate herd from the other one that tested positive.
The animal was in at least a dozen states.
“Other states are keeping a close eye on this,” Lightcap said.
Infected cattle are destroyed and their herds quarantined, said Terry Stokes, chief executive of the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association.
When mad cow disease was detected in some American cattle in 2004, Asian countries restricted beef imports, hurting the U.S. beef industry.
Finding bovine tuberculosis in a herd is unlikely to result in similar restrictions, Stokes said.
“It is very isolated, so it doesn’t have a universal effect on trade, but it can have a regional or local impact on trade,” Stokes said.
Bovine tuberculosis is a serious disease caused by bacteria that attack the respiratory system. There are three types of TB – human, avian and bovine. The bovine type is the most infectious of the three, capable of infecting humans and most mammals.
It is spread primarily by airborne particles exhaled or coughed out by infected animals.
It can also spread through ingestion of infected meat and unpasteurized but infected milk, said Robert Callan, associate professor in the department of clinical sciences at Colorado State University.
Shouldn’t infect humans
Since the USDA inspects beef for the disease before it is sold, and milk is routinely pasteurized, it is unlikely that it would spread to humans, Fankhauser said.
The disease cannot be spread by beef that is cooked properly, he added.
“Getting the bull tested is a key step in protecting Colorado’s livestock,” said CSU veterinarian Dr. John Maulsby in a news release. “This disease investigation has far-reaching effects, and this is a necessary action in order for animal health officials to effectively deal with it.”
The investigation by the Colorado Department of Agriculture and the USDA began in January when a Douglas County bull was sold by its Colorado owner to a meatpacking plant in San Angelo, Texas.
During routine inspection of the carcass, lesions were discovered in the lungs of the bull. Throughout the investigation, about 2,000 Colorado animals have been tested.
“Colorado has been a TB Accredited Free State since 1975,” Maulsby said. “State and federal officials continue to work to protect that status.”
Staff writer Tom McGhee can be reached at 303-954-1671 or tmcghee@denverpost.com.
