Press Release

Suzan Holl	(301) 734-6464
Jerry Redding	(202) 720-6959

USDA AMENDS NEW MEXICO ’S ZONE DESIGNATIONS REGARDING BOVINE TUBERCULOSIS

WASHINGTON, July 21, 2005–The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service today announced that it is amending its bovine tuberculosis regulations regarding state and zone classifications by removing New Mexico from the list of modified accredited advanced states.

APHIS will now list portions of Roosevelt and Curry counties in New Mexico as a modified accredited advanced zone and will add the remainder of the state to the list of accredited-free zones.

Animal health officials in New Mexico have demonstrated to APHIS that the majority of the state meets the criteria for accredited-free status because the larger zone has zero percent prevalence of affected cattle or bison herds and has had no findings of tuberculosis in any cattle or bison herds for the last five years. New Mexico has complied with the conditions of the Uniform Methods and Rules.

Portions of Roosevelt and Curry counties meet the criteria for modified accredited advanced status for cattle and bison. According to those criteria, a state or zone may be classified as modified accredited advanced if the area has fewer than 30,000 herds total and of those, no more than three have been affected for each of the most recent two years. Within these two counties, there are two tuberculosis-affected cattle herds and New Mexico is conducting an aggressive program to eradicate the disease in the zone. There are now no affected herds in the remainder of the state.

Bovine tuberculosis is a contagious and infectious disease caused by Mycobacterium bovis. It affects cattle, bison, deer, elk, goats and other warm-blooded species, including humans. Tuberculosis in infected animals and humans manifests itself in lesions of the lung, lymph nodes, bone and other body parts, causes weight loss and general debilitation and can be fatal.

This interim rule is scheduled for publication in the July 22 Federal Register and becomes effective upon publication. APHIS documents published in the Federal Register are available on the Internet at http://www.aphis.usda.gov/ppd/rad/webrepor.html.

Consideration will be given to comments received on or before Sept. 20. Send an original and three copies of postal mail or commercial delivery comments to Docket No. 04-068-1 Regulatory Analysis and Development, PPD, APHIS, Station 3C71, 4700 River Road Unit 118, Riverdale, MD 20737-1238. If you wish to submit a comment using the Internet, go to EDOCKET at http://www.epa.gov/feddocket, click on “View Open APHIS Dockets,” and locate agency Docket No. 04-068-1.

Comments are posted on the EDOCKET Web site and may also be viewed at USDA, Room 1141, South Building, 14th St. and Independence Ave., SW, Washington, D.C., between 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding holidays. To facilitate entry into the comment reading room, please call (202) 690-2817.

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