Paradise Valley herd undergoes brucellosis tests

By SCOTT McMILLION Chronicle Staff Writer

LIVINGSTON - A Paradise Valley cattle herd is being tested for brucellosis, after the disease was confirmed in a herd near Bridger last week, a federal official said Monday.

"They are continuing to test today," said Teresa Howes, spokeswoman for the U.S. Animal and Plant Health Inspection Services, which regulates brucellosis issues. Veterinarians with the federal agency were in the field and couldn't be reached Monday.

Seven cows from a herd of 301 animals tested positive for brucellosis last week, Gov. Brian Schweitzer announced Friday. He also said that herd might be linked to the Emigrant area in Paradise Valley, where the testing is being conducted.

The names of the cattle owners were not released.

Federal and state officials and local veterinarians are working to find and test any cattle that came into contact with the infected herd.

The first step is to look at all of the cattle that came in and out of that herd, Howes said. That involves a lot of record searches, then rounding up animals and running them through squeeze chutes so their blood can be taken. Lab results can take a few days.

"It all just takes time," Howes said.

If the disease is detected in another herd, the news will be announced through Schweitzer's office, she said. Results aren't likely until late in the week.

If a second outbreak is found, the state will lose its brucellosis-free status, according to federal rules that also call for infected herds to be depopulated.

Both the federal and state governments will compensate the affected ranchers for the destroyed cattle, but that never amounts to full value and the owner is potentially put out of business, said Jay Bodner, natural resources specialist for the Montana Stockgrowers Association.

Losing the disease-free status would cost the cattle industry between $5 million and $15 million, he estimated.

"It's all around a pretty grave concern," he said. "It's certainly got everybody concerned in the livestock business in the state."

Loss of the brucellosis-free status would mean extensive and time-consuming tests for cattle leaving the state. It also could dampen enthusiasm for breeding cattle in Montana, which has the largest, registered-cattle industry in the nation, Bodner said.

"They don't want to deal with that issue so they buy cattle elsewhere," Bodner said of potential buyers.

Cattle sales last year amounted to just over $1 billion, making it one of the biggest industries in the state.

Brucellosis is a bacteriological disease that causes cows to abort their first calf after infection. It is spread primarily by contact with infected birthing materials.

Schweitzer said last week that it doesn't appear the infected herd ever commingled with bison from Yellowstone National Park, but Bodner said it's too early to pinpoint the source of the disease.

About half of the park's bison test positive for exposure to the disease, but their movements are tightly regulated. A smaller portion of elk in the park's northern herd also carry the disease; their movements are not controlled.

Yellowstone area wildlife is considered to be the last major reservoir of the disease in the nation.

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