Program Activities During the past calendar year, a total of 1.23 million herds and 16.65 million cattle were blood tested throughout the country. This represents increases over the previous year of 9.2 percent in the number of herds tested and 6.0 percent in the number of cattle tested. During the same period, there were 1.81 million ring tests reported. This is about the same number of such tests conducted last year. The wide acceptance being given the ring test continues to be fully justified by satisfactory results. The value of this procedure in making it possible to locate centers of infection before they contribute to serious spread of the disease is extremely high. Official vaccinations increased to nearly 6 million last year, or approximately one million more than reported for calendar year 1956. The need for continued vaccination in most areas remains high and should be encouraged and supported as widely as possible. This is especially true in certified areas where the danger of reinfecting susceptible cattle populations is still a serious threat. Infection Rates Both herd and cattle infection rates have declined during the past 12 months from what they were on December 31, 1956. Based upon blood test results alone, herd infection dropped from 12.0 percent in 1956 to 9.8 percent in 1957 and cattle infection was reduced from 1.9 percent to 1.6 percent during the same period. A similar trend was observed in the number of ring suspicious herds disclosed during the year. For 1957, 9.8 percent of the ring tested herds were classed as suspicious. This compares with 12.6 percent similarly identified in 1956. The fact that there has been a consistent reduction in the number of ring-suspicious herds over the past three years further indicates the value of brucellosis ring testing. Certification of Areas The certification of areas continues to be the basic structure of our program and every effort must be made to promote work along these lines as rapidly as possible. It is likewise important that approved standards for the establishment and maintenance of certified areas be rigidly followed in order that maximum confidence in this designation can be assured. In line with this policy, it was necessary remove eight counties from the certified list last year because of failure to properly requalify within specified time limits. to During the twelve-month period ending December 31, 1957, 337 initial county certifications were recorded. This compares with 197 for the preceding year. New county certifications are being approved at the rate of nearly 30 per month. At the end of calendar year 1957, there were 914 certified counties and 690 other counties doing complete area work leading directly to certification. Thus out of 3150 counties in the United States, Puerto Rico and Virgin Islands, 51 percent are either certified or nearing that goal. Since our last meeting three new States and Puerto Rico have been added to the roster of Certified States, making a total of nine States and Puerto Rico which are now completely qualified in this regard. It is anticipated that this number will be nearly doubled within the next six months. Cull and Dry Cow Testing As indicated in our previous report, the Animal Disease Eradication Division has continued investigations designed to evaluate cull and dry cow testing. The data so far assembled have been critically reviewed and shown to be statistically sound from the standpoint of maintaining certification of areas. Consequently, as of January 3, 1958, the Agriculture Research Service approved use of this procedure as an alternate method for recertifying range and semi-range areas, conditioned on the development of effective means for tracing back to areas and ranches of origin the cull and dry cows tested at concentration points. As most of you know, the United States Livestock Sanitary Association recommended the adoption of such an amendment to the Uniform Methods and Rules in 1956. Continued studies are being made to determine the suitability of the same general procedure for initial certification or range and semi-range areas. Personnel Problems Inability to fully meet service requirements of the program continues to be the most important limiting factor in the brucellosis eradication campaign. In response to a recent questionnaire, 15 States reported their programs were being seriously retarded by failure of fee-basis veterinarians to participate to the extent necessary to meet program needs. On this same survey, 25 States indicated that a shortage of veterinarians was restricting the program. Even though more than 6000 practicing veterinarians are listed for fee-basis work, not over 50 to 60 percent are participating at any one time. This largely explains the failure to meet service requirements in some areas even though the number of practitioners is adequate. Qualified technicians are being employed under veterinary supervision in eleven States and Puerto Rico and there is every indication that this type of service is satisfactory. When veterinarians are not available or willing to actively assist, it would appear that the only solution to this problem is supervised use of technicians. The program should not be allowed to fail on this point alone. Eradication Goal As progress continues toward early certification of the entire country, it becomes increasingly important that emphasis be placed on the need for continuing the program at its present level until final eradication is achieved. Current results of the accelerated campaign confirm the widely held view that eradication is possible with the intelligent use of available procedures. Modified Certified Brucellosis-Free Areas are especially vulnerable to reinfection at this stage and must remain alert and vigilant if this status is maintained and further progress made toward final eradication. Continued vaccination will be extremely helpful in this regard. |