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This trich is no treat
Texas, Louisiana, and Arkansas are the latest states to publish regulations dealing with trichomoniasis or "trich" as it is commonly called. That leaves Kansas as the only western state with no trichomoniasis regulations on the books, at least for now. Bovine trichomoniasis is a sexually transmitted disease caused by long-lasting protozoan parasites that live in the penile crypts of bulls and the reproductive tract of infected cows. Bulls are the long-term carrier of the protozoan parasite, show no signs of infection or visible lesions and can shed the organism indefinitely. The majority of infected cows will clear the infection if given 120 to 150 days of sexual rest. There is no way to tell if a herd is free of the infection until it is tested. There is no treatment for trichomoniasis infection. Diagnosis According to Colorado State University Extension, this is what can happen when a cow becomes infected: the infection can cause the cow to be infertile but she will continue to cycle until she builds up immunity; an infected cow can become pregnant but aborts early in the pregnancy and comes back into heat; or the cow can carry the fetus to full term, remain infected, and shed the protozoan after calving. Many times, the first indication that a herd is infected is an increase in the number of open cows, a reduced calving rate, or an extended calving season. The disease is diagnosed in bulls by taking a sample of preputial fluid from the sheath of the bull's penis. The sample is then sent to a diagnostic lab where a culture or a Real Time Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) test is done. If the sample is positive for trichomoniasis, control and prevention involves culling the infected bull or bulls and retesting negative bulls until three negative tests are collected. Western states Trichomoniasis can be a very costly disease and producers need to react quickly to rid their herd of the disease. Infected bulls or cows should only be sold for slaughter. "It is an old disease that has been around for a long time," said Larry Hollis, Extension beef veterinarian at Kansas State University. "Western states with BLM land and communal grazing have had the disease for years and dealt with it for years," Hollis said. "The incidence is increasing. We are seeing it pop up in a checkerboard fashion all across the state of Kansas. It is not just in one part of the state." Hollis said the southwest corner of the state has had the disease for years. The Cimarron National Grasslands in southwest Kansas has communal grazing, and ranchers in that area have fought it for a long time. Texas noticed an increased incidence of trichomoniasis, which led to their two-phased approach to new trichomoniasis regulations. The first phase took effect on April 1, 2009, and dealt with interstate movement of bulls into Texas. Beginning on that date, breeding bulls entering Texas from any other state had to be 24 months of age or younger and certified as virgin, or be tested negative for bovine trichomoniasis within 30 days prior to entry. Non-virgin, untested breeding bulls could enter Texas for slaughter only. The second phase took effect on Jan. 1, 2010, and deals with the intrastate movement of bulls. This requires that Texas breeding bulls offered for sale, lease, exchange or otherwise changing possession for breeding within the state, be certified as virgin bulls or be tested negative prior to selling, loaning, exchanging, giving or otherwise changing the possession of a breeding bull. Dr. Dee Ellis, Texas state veterinarian, said they will review their regulations on a yearly basis with an industry working group to ensure that the rules remain timely and effective. "We worked with the cattle industry for nearly two years on these regulations because it is an industry-driven program," Carla Everett, Texas Animal Health Commission, said. "With all of the western states having regulations, it was time to create a program that would prevent the entry of infected animals, and then address it within the state," Everett said. "We had no regulations to prevent the introduction of potentially infected bulls. After we put our regulations into effect, Louisiana and Arkansas put in trich regulations. The only real western state that does not have regulations now is Kansas." New regulations That could change very soon, however. By the time this story is published, Kansas could have temporary trichomoniasis regulations in place requiring testing for breeding bulls entering the state. In an interview on Jan. 12, George Teagarden, Kansas Livestock Commissioner, said Kansas would have temporary regulations in place within a few weeks. "We have a draft that needs to be approved by an attorney, then we will ask for a temporary regulation," Teagarden said. "Then the process will start to make it a permanent regulation." Teagarden said the permanent regulation process takes a minimum of 90 days. There is a 60-day comment period and then it takes a while to get it through the Secretary of State's office, the Attorney General's office, and the Department of Administration. This regulation will be for the import of breeding bulls only. Teagarden said there may be a second phase in the future for intrastate sale of bulls within the state. The proposed Kansas trichomoniasis regulation would require three culture tests or two culture tests and a PCR test. Teagarden said that is a significant testing regime but veterinarians at the K-State College of Veterinary Science said to get an accurate test they need three tests. Nebraska has similar requirements for bulls entering the state. The Nebraska regulation requires all bulls over 24 months of age and all non-virgin bulls less than 24 months of age shall have three consecutive official negative trichomoniasis culture tests at least one week apart or one negative PCR test within 30 days prior to importation. "All the other states from here west have trichomoniasis regulations; and, if we don't get some in place ourselves, we could become a dumping ground for bulls that might be questionable. And instead of testing them, they just bring them to Kansas for sale," Teagarden said. "We risk bringing additional disease into our state." Doug Rich can be reached by phone at 785-749-5304 or by email at richhpj@aol.com.
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