Controlling trichomoniasis

By Doug Rich

Even as states refine their trichomoniasis rules, the programs in place are doing a good job of controlling the disease.

Dr. Rod Hall, state veterinarian in Oklahoma, said 2.1 percent of the bulls tested in 2011 were positive for trichomoniasis. In 2012 only 1.4 percent of the bulls tested in Oklahoma were positive for the disease.

"It looks like we made a little bit of progress on educating producers and they are doing a better job of managing their herds," Hall said.

Similar results have been achieved in Texas, which started a mandatory trichomoniasis program in 2009 at the request of their livestock industry.

"Although we don't have a statistically valid sample of the population from before and now, all we can gauge it on are the bulls that being are tested and how many are positive," Dr. Andy Schwartz, executive assistant director of the Animal Health Commission in Texas, said. In the last 12 months they have tested nearly 25,000 bulls and only 433 were positive for the disease. That is about 1.7 percent of the tested bulls. Schwartz said the first year of the program nearly 3.5 percent of the bulls tested came back positive for trich.

NEWS

CROPS

LIVESTOCK

EDITOR

COLUMNS

MARKETS

RANGE

FAMILY