Agricultural News
Oklahoma Increases Import Requirements Due to Vesicular Stomatitis Outbreak
Thu, 13 Aug 2015 16:40:40 CDT
Oklahoma livestock owners need to be cautious in not bringing back any contagious diseases into the state. Vesicular Stomatitis (VS) has become a growing concern in several bordering states. Since the start of the outbreak, 215 VS cases have been confirmed in seven states. This includes Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, South Dakota, Texas, Utah and Wyoming. While no cases have been identified in Oklahoma, State Veterinarian Dr. Rod Hall said this is a disease that they want to keep out of the state. Because the symptoms of VS are similar to that of foot and mouth disease, Dr. Hall asks veterinarians and producers to monitor livestock. Vesicular Stomatitis symptoms include an animal not wanting to eat, drooling, blisters or ulcers in or around the mouth. VS can also cause soreness or lameness in the feet and cows can get lesions on their teats.
"So, anything like that, we would ask that they report that to us and then we can do some testing to determine if it is or if it is not (Vesicular Stomatitis)," Hall said.
Oklahoma has restrictions in place to protect the livestock coming into the state. For any county that has had any confirmed VS case, Dr. Hall said the state requires horses or other livestock to have a health certificate within five days, rather than the normal 30 days. The veterinarian that writes the health certificate for that animal to come into Oklahoma must provide a statement that the animal was not from a premises where VS has been diagnosed. The animal has to be examined by a veterinarian and the animal must be free of any lesions.
Radio Oklahoma Network Farm Director Ron Hays interviewed Dr. Hall about the VS situation. Click or tap on the LISTENBAR below to listen to the full interview.
Many Oklahomans travel to the mountains of New Mexico and Colorado in the fall for elk hunting, so Dr. Hall is wanting horse owners to take precautions. He urges livestock owners to be aware of the counties that have been affected by VS. He recommends owners call ahead to see what counties are affected by VS before leaving the state, as well as returning back to Oklahoma. Further, livestock owners should by proactive in knowing the local veterinarians where they are traveling to, so if they need to get a health certificate before returning to Oklahoma, they would know where to go.
In recent weeks the number of VS cases have increased rapidly. In the latest VS report, 57 new confirmed or suspect premises where identified and quarantined. States and their counties that are currently affected include: In Colorado: Archuleta, Chaffee, Conejos, Delta, La Plata, Larimer, Mesa, Montezuma, Montrose, Weld counties. In New Mexico: San Juan, Taos and Union counties. In South Dakota: Meade and Pennington counties. In Wyoming: Goshen and Platte counties. In Utah: Grand and San Juan counties.
WebReadyTM Powered by WireReady® NSI
Top Agricultural News
More Headlines...