By KEVIN WALKER
Michigan Correspondent

EMMET COUNTY, Mich. — Last week the Michigan Department of Agriculture (MDA) announced it’s discovered a bovine tuberculosis (TB) positive beef cattle herd in Emmet County.

Emmett County is one of six counties that had its TB status upgraded last January to the Modified Accredited Advanced Zone (MAAZ), which is one step lower than TB free status and one higher than the Modified Accredited Zone (MAZ). The MAZ includes an area in southeastern lower Michigan where Bovine TB is endemic. An area can be designated as TB free after no TB positive cattle have been discovered for at least several years.

“This one herd will not impact that area’s status,” said James Averill, a veterinarian who serves as the MDA’s Bovine TB eradication program coordinator.

All of the herds in a 10-mile radius of this latest find will need to be tested, according to protocol. Sixty-seven farms have been identified in this area that have cattle that will need to be tested. According to Averill, the rule is that up to six herds in the MAAZ can test positive for TB in a 24 month period without causing the area to be downgraded to a lower zone. Also, it can have up to three in 12 months without suffering a downgrade.

This is the second herd in Michigan this year to have TB-positive cattle. Earlier, a herd in Alcona County was found to be TB positive. That isn’t considered to be as significant because TB is endemic in that area.

“We keep having 1-3 herds in that zone every year,” Averill said. “Predominantly what we have found in Michigan is they come from free-ranging white-tailed deer.”

Although Bovine TB can be transmitted by nose-to-nose contact, the MDA advises farmers to lessen the chances that their herd will contract TB by keeping cattle feed away from deer. Farmers in non-free zones can help their herds, and themselves, by participating in the state’s Wildlife Risk Mitigation Program. If a farmer becomes verified in the program he can move his cattle around more freely than if he doesn’t participate.

An informational meeting for Emmett County farmers is scheduled for Wednesday, April 21 from 7-9 p.m. at the West Traverse Township Hall: 8001 M-119, Harbor Springs.