Bovine tuberculosis has been confirmed in a steer from South Dakota that was at a packing plant in Wisconsin.
South Dakota State Veterinarian Dr. Beth Thompson says the infected steer was initially identified in late October by meat inspectors during a routine inspection at the plant and records linked the steer to the Hamlin County feedlot that had marketed the animal. She says the TB infection was confirmed by the National Veterinary Surveillance Laboratory in Ames, IA, last week (Dec. 6, 2024).
Thompson says the State Veterinarian’s office is working with the feedlot owner, USDA officials, area veterinarians and other producers who may have sold animals purchased by the feedlot in order to locate the steer’s original source herd. She says precautions are being taken to protect the health of South Dakota’s cattle industry.
Thompson says Bovine TB is not currently a threat to food safety in the United States because of milk pasteurization and comprehensive meat inspection programs. She says the last time South Dakota reported a case of Bovine TB was in 2021.
Bovine tuberculosis is a chronic, slowly progressive respiratory disease of cattle. Infected animals may transmit infection to other animals when in close proximity for prolonged periods. Cattle rarely exhibit visible signs of illness. Testing of cattle herds is necessary to determine if animals are infected. The US has nearly eliminated bovine TB due to a cooperative eradication campaign and South Dakota has officially been recognized as free of the disease since 1982.
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