The Brucellosis-Free Planning Project is the Texas response to the stated goal of having all states brucellosis Class "Free" by the end of l998. Since the beginning of the State-Federal Cooperative Bovine Brucellosis Eradication Program, the industry and government agencies have spent at least $3.5 billion. The current reality is that time and money are running out.

Texas has made remarkable progress in the program by moving from a high of nearly 1,100 quarantined herds in l987, to 50 at the end of February 1995. We finally achieved Class "A" status March 28, 1994. It is clear that we must obtain Class "Free" status more rapidly than the average state, if the national goal is to be met.

We are building on the experience of other states in our effort to "Cut the Tail Off the Dragon." The Brucellosis-Free Planning Project was devised to focus on the goal of accelerating the movement to Class "Free" and increase the ownership of the program by regulatory personnel to counter the tendency toward the complacency experienced in other states. The team included a TAHC area director, USDA and state field veterinarians, a food animal practitioner, an epidemiologist, a supervising inspector, an animal identification coordinator and three field inspectors.

They produced a report that contained 26 detailed recommendations related to the operation of the program. Included were recommendations to pay indemnification for Strain 19 infected cattle and to change the age for calfhood vaccination to four to eight months, instead of four to 12 months. They also advocated a wide-ranging information campaign to convince the industry that "if it’s too late, don’t vaccinate!"

They recommended changes that would reduce the potential for exposure to occur in market channels. They include sending brucellosis-infected horses and cattle direct to slaughter, rather than through the livestock market and would require cattle leaving quarantined feedlots to go directly to slaughter, or be "S"-permitted to another quarantined feedlot.

The committee felt that licensing of livestock dealers and markets and authority for the TAHC to levy administrative penalties for noncompliance with regulations would enhance the program . This would require statutory change and this is under active consideration in the current session of the legislature. The group recommended the agency develop a compliance action report form for field personnel to complete and submit when needed.

Although the card test would continue to be used at the livestock market, in conjunction with the CITE test, the committee recommended that this testing tool be removed from the field. Blood samples would be sent directly to the laboratory for all tests, thus providing assurances that cattle were not being screened. The committee recommended that evaluation of the State-Federal Laboratory be continued to assure high-quality, dependable results.

In addition, the group recommended that an agreement be sought with the Texas Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory under which blood samples submitted for abortion screening would be forwarded to the State-Federal Laboratory for brucellosis testing.

They request that USDA assure that cattle being sent to Mexico for slaughter were tested within 30 days prior to shipment. Furthermore, the committee urged actions be taken to ensure that all slaughter plants, including custom-kill and state-inspected plants, document , collect and submit blood samples from all test eligible animals to the State-Federal laboratory.

Some recommended changes for managing suspect herds involved restricting the herd for six months, including the heifers. In doing the diagnostic work-up on individuals a recommendation was made that milk culture should be attempted only twice unless the epidemiologist recommends otherwise. Should Strain 19 be isolated, the investigation will be terminated.

A variety of recommendations were offered, related to infected herd management. They included extending the quarantine period to one year; dropping the post-quarantine herd test; requiring tagging of all heifers less than four months of age; and requiring testing and vaccination of heifers that are between the ages of four and eight months. The team also recommended preparing a "new and missing animal" report on every test to improve animal accountability in infected herds.

The planning team urged continuing the policy of testing all adjacent herds within a half mile of the index herd and identification and individually evaluating herds within a mile from the infected herd. A risk assessment should be conducted on each herd involved with traces into or out of an infected herd to determine if a complete herd test is required.

A number of recommendations were made concerning feedlot management. They included the phaseout of "split" (quarantined and non-quarantined ) feedlots; action to ensure that all test-eligible feedlot cattle be sampled at slaughter, and a requirement that all sexually intact females in quarantined feedlot be "S"-branded. All test-eligible animals shipped to feedlots should also be tested within 30 days prior to entering the facility. To assure these actions take place, the feedlots would be required to notify the TAHC prior to the arrival of shipments, so an inspector can verify compliance and test non-verified animals.

The team expressed concern regarding the surveillance of test-eligible cattle moving into non-quarantined feedyards and recommended action be taken to assure that all test-eligible cattle be tested prior to entering such facilities.

Their recommendation was that feedlot managers be required to notify the TAHC prior to the arrival of these test-eligible cattle, so an inspector might be on hand to check the shipment and test any untested adult cattle. The requirement for calfhood vaccination for heifers moving to a feedlot for finished feeding should also be discontinued, according to the team.

To enhance surveillance and case-finding, the committee suggested that a free herd test be offered to owners of at-risk herds.

The Brucellosis-Free Planning Project team strongly recommended that an assessment of high-risk herds be undertaken. This effort would be designed to identify herds at high-risk that would be required to test in order to accelerate case-finding . The criteria were based on historical data and past program modifications. High-risk herds might include adjacent herds released on a single test; suspect herds released with a single negative test; herds within a mile of previously infected herds but never tested; herds with a record of selling only calves; and herds with no record of participation in the surveillance program.

To implement the recommendations of the planning team, some existing regulations will require modification; some new regulations will be needed; and some statutory changes made. Above all else, continued active support by the industry and private practitioners is essential. The TAHC will continue to pursue programs that ensure maximum participation by all stakeholders. Nothing else offers any promise for achieving our mutual goal of becoming "Free" of bovine brucellosis by year’s end l998.