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Posted by GoatWorld on March 13, 2002 at 20:03:55:
Texas Animal Health Commission
Box l2966 *Austin, Texas 78711 *(800) 550-8242* FAX (512) 719-0719
Linda Logan, DVM, PhD* Executive Director
For info, contact Carla Everett, information officer, at 1-800-550-8242,ext. 710, or ceverett@tahc.state.tx.us
For Immediate Release--March 13, 2002
Alert from the Texas Animal Health Commission (TAHC):
Kansas Disease Investigation
Please share this information with others in the livestock community
who may have heard media reports of a possible foot-and-mouth
disease outbreak in Kansas. We have talked with livestock health
officials in that state for the latest information.
Blisters and erosions (sores) have been detected in eight cattle and
several horses in that state. Veterinarians from the Kansas Animal Health Department collected blood samples and tissue scrapings from the animals and these are being carried to the offshore Foreign Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory on Plum Island, New York. Lab results will not be known for about 24 hours. We will provide diagnostic information as soon as it is available.
According to Dr. Terry Conger, TAHC's state epidemiologist, it is unlikely that the oral lesions were caused by foot-and-mouth disease, because horses, which are not susceptible to the viral disease, also exhibited sores. Currently, it is thought that the sores may have be feed-related.
Dr. Conger said a a number of domestic diseases, chemicals and even plants can cause signs identical to foot-and-mouth disease in cattle. These are; BVD, Bovine Viral Diarrhea; or IBR, Infectious Bovine Rhinotracheitis (red nose). VS, or Vesicular Stomatitis, can affect cattle, horses and pigs. Toxic chemicals and grasses also can cause oral lesions.
Dr. Richard Ferris, area veterinarian-in-charge for the USDA's Veterinary Services in Texas, noted that at least 400-500 foreign animal disease investigations are conducted each year in the U.S. "At this point, we have no indication that this investigation is any more likely than others to result in a diagnosis of foot-and-mouth disease," said Dr. Ferris. "I urge producers to continue reporting any signs of a potential foreign animal disease in their livestock, including blistering, unusual ticks, staggering, or sudden herd or flock illness or death loss. We routinely watch for such signs and will respond accordingly, as demonstrated in this Kansas situation."
To make reports, producers should contact their private practitioner and the Texas Animal Health Commission at 1-800-550-8242, which is in operation 24 hours a day.
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