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Suzan Holl (301) 734-6464
Jerry Redding (202) 720-4623

USDA AMENDS TUBERCULOSIS REGULATIONS REGARDING RE-ACCREDITATION TEST FOR CAPTIVE CERVIDS

WASHINGTON, April 26, 2006--The U. S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service is amending the regulations regarding bovine tuberculosis in captive cervids in order to reduce testing costs for herd owners, lessen the potential for animal injury or death during testing, lower administrative costs for state and federal regulatory agencies and continue to protect American agriculture.

The new regulations include provisions to:

• Increase by one year, the term for which accredited herd status is valid.
• Increase the interval for conducting the re-accreditation test by 12 months--allowing re-accreditation tests to be performed within 33 to 39 months of the anniversary date.
• Reduce from three tests to two, the number of consecutive negative, official TB tests required by all eligible captive cervids in a herd before the herd can be eligible for recognition as being accredited.

In addition, APHIS is removing references to the blood TB test so that the regulations refer only to those official tests currently in use. The blood test is no longer used in the captive cerivid TB eradication program.

Bovine TB is a contagious and infectious disease caused by Mycobacterium bovis. The disease affects cattle, bison, deer, elk, goats and other warm blooded species, including humans.

This final rule became effective April 21 and is scheduled for publication in the April 27 Federal Register.

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