CALIFORNIA REGAINS ACCREDITED-FREE STATUS FOR BOVINE TUBERCULOSIS

Federal restrictions lifted on movement of cattle

SACRAMENTO – Nearly two years after losing Accredited-Free status due to an outbreak of bovine tuberculosis among dairy herds in Kings and Tulare counties, the State of California has regained that status, following publication of an interim rule in the Federal Register dated April 15, 2005. As a result, a federal requirement that cattle leaving California be tested for TB has been lifted.

“It has been a long road to reach this point, and, of course, it is welcome news for California’s cattle industry, which is one of our dedicated partners in animal disease prevention, ” said State Veterinarian Dr. Richard Breitmeyer. “I want to commend both CDFA and USDA staff for their hard work enabling us to regain our Accredited-Free status.”

Following the bovine TB detections, veterinarians tested 876,069 cattle from 688 herds to make sure the disease had not spread further. In addition, new rules were put in place requiring that breeding dairy cattle entering California be tested to prevent reintroduction of the disease. Vigilance in TB surveillance at slaughter plants is critical in preventing this disease from ever becoming re-established in the state.  

In publishing the interim rule, the USDA noted that California has zero prevalence of affected herds and has had no findings of tuberculosis in any herds in the two years since the depopulation of the last affected herd.

The publication of the interim rule is accompanied by a comment period through June 14, 2005, after which the rule may be modified. More information is available at: http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=2005_register&docid=fr15ap05-1.pdf