Catbird
Senior Moderator
From the Seattle Times: Possible bovine tuberculosis case in Washington being investigated
"Washington state agriculture officials are investigating a possible case of bovine tuberculosis in a Grant County dairy cow sent to slaughter. That ailment has not been seen in Washington cattle since 1988.
Health officials say there is no immediate human health concern. Agriculture Department spokesman Hector Castro said Thursday that the meat was isolated after a federal food safety inspector spotted a suspicious lesion and sent a sample for testing. The cow was sent earlier this month to a Cowlitz County slaughter facility.
...The National Veterinary Services Laboratory in Iowa reported Wednesday that the tissue sample was consistent with bovine TB. Castro says an additional test is being done to confirm the diagnosis, with results expected in six weeks."
More detail from Food Safety News: Bovine Tuberculosis Suspected in WA Dairy Cow
"...The problem was spotted at the slaughter facility by an inspector for the U.S. Department of Agriculture?s Food Safety and Inspection Service on Jan. 8. The inspector noticed a suspicious lesion on the cow and had samples submitted for testing, isolating the meat until the results returned on Jan. 16 indicating a consistency with bovine tuberculosis.
...The cow came from a Grant County dairy that pasteurizes all of its milk, effectively eliminating the risk of passing tuberculosis to humans, Washington State Department of Agriculture communications director Hector Castro told Food Safety News.
State agriculture officials have barred the farm from moving any cows off the property or selling raw milk for consumption until inspectors can test the entire herd for tuberculosis. Those tests should occur over one or two days next week, Castro said.
The Grant County dairy purchased the cow from a dairy in Snohomish County roughly one year ago...".
"Washington state agriculture officials are investigating a possible case of bovine tuberculosis in a Grant County dairy cow sent to slaughter. That ailment has not been seen in Washington cattle since 1988.
Health officials say there is no immediate human health concern. Agriculture Department spokesman Hector Castro said Thursday that the meat was isolated after a federal food safety inspector spotted a suspicious lesion and sent a sample for testing. The cow was sent earlier this month to a Cowlitz County slaughter facility.
...The National Veterinary Services Laboratory in Iowa reported Wednesday that the tissue sample was consistent with bovine TB. Castro says an additional test is being done to confirm the diagnosis, with results expected in six weeks."
More detail from Food Safety News: Bovine Tuberculosis Suspected in WA Dairy Cow
"...The problem was spotted at the slaughter facility by an inspector for the U.S. Department of Agriculture?s Food Safety and Inspection Service on Jan. 8. The inspector noticed a suspicious lesion on the cow and had samples submitted for testing, isolating the meat until the results returned on Jan. 16 indicating a consistency with bovine tuberculosis.
...The cow came from a Grant County dairy that pasteurizes all of its milk, effectively eliminating the risk of passing tuberculosis to humans, Washington State Department of Agriculture communications director Hector Castro told Food Safety News.
State agriculture officials have barred the farm from moving any cows off the property or selling raw milk for consumption until inspectors can test the entire herd for tuberculosis. Those tests should occur over one or two days next week, Castro said.
The Grant County dairy purchased the cow from a dairy in Snohomish County roughly one year ago...".