News

Bovine tuberculosis found in SD cattle herd

A South Dakota cattle herd has tested positive for bovine tuberculosis. The state veterinarian, Dusty Oedekoven, said the first case was identified through routine slaughter surveillance with more cases tracked back to that cow’s herd…

“From there we will continue to investigate the extent of the disease,” he said. “Whether it might be in neighboring herds or other herds that purchased or sold cattle into this herd.”

He said tracking the disease’s possible spread from the Corson County herd is a challenge, but it highlights the reason for record keeping of animal movements.

Oedekoven tells Brownfield with enhanced inspection, the bovine tuberculosis cases do not pose a risk to the food supply chain…

“Furthermore, if something were to get through the inspection system, cooking to the appropriate temperature kills the bacteria as well,” he said.

Oedekoven said there is no treatment for infected cattle outside of quarantine. The recent cases of bovine tuberculosis are the first known cases since 2017.