ACTIVITIES HANDBOOK 



Animal 

 Disease 

 Eradication 

 Division 



Cooperative Disease Eradication Programs 



BRUCELLOSIS 



Early efforts 



Brucellosis of livestock in the United States 

 has been a serious problem for half a century. 

 Losses have exceeded hundreds of millions of 

 dollars. 



The first real efforts to control brucellosis 

 under independent State programs were under- 

 taken in 1922, but little progress was made 

 until 1934 when the problem was attacked on 

 a national scale. In that year the cooperative 

 State-Federal bovine brucellosis eradication 

 program was launched as part of an emergency 

 cattle-reduction project because of drought in 

 many sections. All States cooi)erated in the 

 plan, and initial testing indicated that approxi- 

 mately 10 percent of the adult cattle in the 

 United States were infected. 



As the drought emergency subsided, the 

 project was continued on a limited scale as a 

 desirable disea.se-eradication program. It was 

 found to be more economical to eradicate bru- 

 cellosis than to live with it ; and in 1954, funds 

 were made available by the Congress and the 

 various States for an adequate program. Many 

 States were quick to take advantage of the 

 opportunity to participate in a cooperative 

 eradication program, while others lagged and 



still others have only recently inaugurated com- 

 plete area eradication efforts. All 50 States 

 now have cooperative eradication programs on 

 an area basis. 



Innovations through the years 



Considerable progress in eradication was 

 made prior to World War II, but the program 

 was hampered by lack of uniformity in pro- 

 cedures and the fact that a suitable vaccine had 

 not yet been develoi)ed. During the war years, 

 the program suffered from lack of personnel. 

 On the brighter side was the introduction in 

 1941 of strain 19 BniccJId vaccine. In the en- 

 suing years it has proved dependable and sta- 

 ble, conferring a serviceable, if not absolute, 

 immunity. 



In 1947, the United States Livestock Sani- 

 tary Association adopted Uniform Methods and 

 Rules for the eradication of brucellosis, which 

 were then approved by the Division. Additions 

 and improvements in the Uniform Methods and 

 Rules have been made from time to time until 

 today the program is similar in all States. 



One of the most important developments in 

 brucellosis eradication was the introduction in 

 1952 of the milk-ring test, which has made pos- 



