Utah can well be proud of the progress made in the brucellosis eradication effort during the past year. The goal of complete certification by June 30, 1958 should be met as expected. All segments of the livestock industry have supported the program. The State Brucellosis Committee recommended the adoption of a regulation which limited the grazing on public domain to cattle from modified certified brucellosisfree areas or cattle negative to the test for brucellosis. This proposed regulation was published, and when no objections were received it was adopted by the State Board of Agriculture, effective October 15, 1957. The local brucellosis committees have assisted in promoting local participation and assisting in all phases of the program. It is anticipated that Utah may be the first strictly range State to achieve complete certification. There are no provisions for the establishment and maintenance of brucellosisfree swine herds in the State, but the swine industry has indicated an interest in the program. A state regulation requiring a negative brucellosis test for breeding swine exhibited at fairs and stock shows has been adopted. Vermont was declared a Modified Certified Brucellosis-free State on August 12, 1957; it was the ninth State to reach this goal. Legislation was effected in February 1957 which virtually made it mandatory for all herds of cattle in Vermont to conform to requirements of the vaccinationtest plan. Previously many herds had practiced only vaccination or were not enrolled on any control plan. The above mentioned legislation enabled officials to determine the brucellosis status of all Vermont herds by either the BRT or blood tests. In the final clean up toward a Modified Certified State, local teams organized by county extension agents and led by representative farmers, canvassed neighborhoods to seek out all small herds not covered by the BRT. These herds were then assigned to the local veterinarian to blood test or were tested by regular State or Federal employees. Efforts are now being directed toward further reducing the incidence of brucellosis with eradication as a final goal. It is expected that by December 31, 1958 the infection rate will be reduced to 1.5 percent of the herds and 0.7 percent of the cattle. There are no provisions for the certification of brucellosis-free swine herds. The chief difficulty encountered in the Virginia brucellosis eradication campaign during 1957 was failure of fee-basis veterinarians to complete assignments promptly, thereby seriously interfering with plans to conduct a well-coordinated program. Work now assigned to practitioners must be completed within a specified time or it is reassigned. Increased use of the brucellosis ring-test has materially helped in the certification of areas. Expansion of testing facilities also has contributed to more rapid progress along these lines. The State brucellosis committee continues to support this program in an effective manner. The goal for State-wide certification is December 1960. During 1958 it is expected that 55 counties will be certified and complete area work will be underway in 12 others. There should be a total of 65 certified counties in the State by December 31, 1958. Virginia has provisions for certifying brucellosis-free swine herds. However, they are differentiated from certified cattle herds by designating them "classified". At the present time, 11 herds are officially "classified" and 15 others are in the process of qualifying. It is expected that a total of 50 swine herds will be listed as "classified" by the end of calendar year 1958. 23205 0-58 -9 Washington became certified on June 1, 1956, and since that time special attention has been directed toward reducing the number of quarantined herds in the state by prompt retests. There are less than 150 such herds listed at present. Washington is concentrating activities toward complete eradication of brucellosis. A State regulation requiring the identification of animals at all sales yards to assist in tracing infection back to herds of origin was inaugurated during the year. Slaughterhouse blood samples of all breeding animals three years of age or older are collected at State and Federal inspected establishments. This has proved to be a very effective tool in locating infected herds and screening non-infected herds. Very few swine are raised in the State and there has been no interest in a swine brucellosis program. |