Texas officials track tuberculosis

Austin, Texas - A federal veterinarian's routine exam with onecarcass resulted in some bad news for a beef cattle herd in south centralTexas.

The herd was infected with cattle tuberculosis (TB), report Texas livestockhealth officials.

The disease, caused by Mycobacterium bovis, can produce internal lesionsin animals.

"The investigation began early this summer, when a federal veterinarian,conducting a routine exam in a slaughter facility, detected lesions in acarcass that were compatible with those of TB," says Dr. Linda Logan,Texas state veterinarian and executive director of the Texas Animal HealthCommission (TAHC), the state's livestock health regulatory agency.

"Tissue samples from the carcass were tested at the National VeterinaryServices Laboratory (NVSL) in Ames, Iowa, where a definitive diagnosis ofcattle TB was made," she says.

The animal was traced to its original herd, which was subsequently placedunder quarantine, and all adult animals were skin-tested for the disease.

Dr. Dan Baca, the TAHC's TB epidemiologist, says of the 26 animals tested,10 had positive results. In late August, the 10 animals were slaughtered,and the carcasses were examined thoroughly for internal lesions indicativeof the disease. Seven animals had lesions, and tissue samples were collectedand forwarded to NVSL for confirmation tests. The carcasses were incinerated;the remaining 16 animals have been destroyed.