Monday, June 13, 2011

Steer tests positive for bovine TB on Arizona ranch

A Pinal County rancher has been ordered to quarantine 199 rodeo steers after one animal in the herd tested positive for bovine tuberculosis. It is the first case of the highly contagious disease in Arizona since 1978. Bovine TB can spread to humans, usually in unpasteurized milk, as well as to domestic animals. The rancher must either test the entire herd - an expensive and time-consuming process - or kill each animal. The rancher, whom state officials would not identify, had planned to send the steers to area rodeos, said Laura Oxley, a spokeswoman for the Arizona Agriculture Department. The infected steer tested negative for the disease when it arrived with the rest of the herd from Mexico in March, but tested positive in May...more

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