APHIS Factsheet

Veterinary Services March 2014

Questions and Answers: 

Preventing Bovine 

Tuberculosis

Biosecurity Measures

Q. What can I do to keep my herd free from bovine 

tuberculosis (TB)?

A. Following these best practices will help keep bovine 

TB out of your herd:

•	 Have your livestock tested for TB and, if 

possible, keep a closed herd and raise your 

own replacement stock.

•	 Buy your animals from an accredited TB-free 

herd, test the new animals prior to purchase, and 

finally, isolate them for 60 days and retest before 

commingling them with your herd.

•	 Restrict or eliminate all contact between your 

herd and other herds.

•	 Clean with a disinfectant any trailers or facilities 

that have housed newly purchased animals or 

animals that did not originate from your herd.

•	 Keep on-farm visitors away from your herd 

whenever possible. This includes milk haulers, 

feed delivery personnel, and anyone who may 

have contact with other herds.

•	 Make sure your fences are in good condition 

to separate your herd from wildlife. If the 

wildlife in your area is affected by TB, contact 

the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) 

Wildlife Services office in your State for advice 

on reducing wildlife contact with your herd. 

You can reach Wildlife Services staff by calling 

1-866-4USDA-WS (1-866-487-3297).

Q. How can I make sure that the animals I buy come 

from a TB-free herd?

A. Always ask for a copy of the accredited TB-free 

herd certificate when you are purchasing animals. All 

accredited TB-free herds have this certificate. The 

certificate signifies the herd has tested negative for TB 

at least twice and meets the standards for an accredited 

TB-free herd. Those standards are available on USDA’s 

Web site at www.aphis.usda.gov/animal_health/animal_

diseases/tuberculosis/downloads/tb-umr.pdf.

Q. How can I make sure that the animals I buy have 

not been exposed to a TB-infected herd?

A. The best way to make sure that purchased animals 

have not been exposed to TB is to buy animals from 

an accredited TB-free herd. Additionally, have animals 

tested prior to purchasing and moving them to your 

premises. Isolate the new animals for 60 days and have 

them retested before commingling them with your herd. 

Q. Are new animals introduced to my herd a threat? 

A. Commingling new animals with a herd can introduce 

diseases, especially if they are not properly screened 

for disease prior to introduction. Make sure that the new 

animals added to your herd are screened for TB.

Q. How do I protect calves from disease exposure? 

A. Unweaned calves are the most susceptible to 

illness. Separating calves from older animals is an 

effective management practice that will reduce the risk 

of disease exposure. In addition, using pasteurized 

colostrum and pasteurized milk or milk replacer is 

critical in reducing infectious diseases—such as TB, 

Johne’s disease, Salmonella, and E. coli—that can be 

spread through milk.

Q. If there is a TB outbreak in my area, are there any 

additional biosecurity measures, above and beyond 

best practices, that I should take to reduce the 

chance of my cattle getting the disease?

A. Practice good biosecurity at all times. Do not 

commingle new animals with your herd without first 

isolating them for 60 days and having them screened 

for diseases. Also, do not allow visitors to the livestock 

areas of your farm, except for veterinary or regulatory 

personnel who may have to test your herd for disease. 

Prevent commingling or fence-line contact with other 

susceptible animals (domestic and wild).

Q. What biosecurity measures can I take at sale 

barns, shows, and exhibitions to lower the risk of 

disease exposure?

A. After visiting a sale barn, show, or exhibition, do 

not wear the same clothes—including footwear—

around your own herd until you have cleaned and 

disinfected them.

Thoroughly clean any vehicles, trailers, equipment, 

and other items that have been to the sale barn, show, 

or exhibition. Disease can be transported by manure 

stuck on wheels, tires, and fenders, among other things. 
When bringing animals home from a sale barn, show, 

or exhibition, isolate them from the rest of your herd for 

60 days and have them tested before allowing them to 

commingle with the rest of your herd.

Animal Identification and Traceability

Q. How does animal identification help if there is a 

bovine TB detection or outbreak in my State?

A. When dealing with bovine TB, knowing the origin 

and movement history of all your animals can help you 

see whether or not they may have been exposed to 

the disease. Animal identification and good records 

can help regulatory personnel more quickly trace your 

animals and determine if they could have been exposed 

to TB. Traceability is the key to protecting animal health 

and marketability.

Q. Are there regulations in the United States that 

support traceability?

A. In addition to bovine TB regulations that govern 

official identification and movement requirements, 

a regulation for improving the traceability of U.S. 

livestock moving interstate took effect on March 11, 

2013. The regulation improves our ability to trace 

livestock and poultry when there is a disease event 

and focuses on those species, such as the cattle 

sector, where improved capabilities are most needed. 

As a result, accurate traceability information is more 

readily available, enabling USDA to shorten disease 

investigation timelines. 

To view a copy of this regulation (“Traceability for Livestock 

Moving Interstate; Final Rule”), go to www.aphis.usda.gov/

newsroom/2012/12/pdf/traceability_final_rule.pdf.

Q. What are the requirements for moving livestock 

interstate under the final rule mentioned above?

A. Unless otherwise exempt, livestock covered in the 

rule must be officially identified and accompanied by 

an interstate certificate of veterinary inspection (ICVI) 

or other movement document. For more specifics, see 

USDA’s summary of the requirements (cattle section 

is on page 2) at www.aphis.usda.gov/traceability/

downloads/ADT_summary_species.pdf.

Q. Why are cattle tested for TB getting tagged 

with a certain type of radio frequency identification 

(RFID) tag?

A. USDA uses official identification RFID tags for 

its program disease work whenever possible. This 

includes bovine TB eradication efforts. The tags allow 

for faster and easier testing of cattle.

 

During TB testing, each animal needs to be handled 

twice—once to inject and once to “read” the test. The 

use of RFID tags eliminates the need to manually 

record identification numbers and greatly speeds 

the process. By reducing the time each animal is 

restrained, the RFID tags help reduce stress and 

increase the quality of the data obtained.

Additionally, the tags serve as more than just an official 

identification number for interstate movement. When 

paired with other commercially available hardware 

and software, the tags can assist cattlemen with other 

herd needs, including: animal movement and health 

records, breed registries, performance recording, and 

marketing programs.

Q. If my cattle need to be tested for TB, will they 

have to be tagged? Does it have to be an RFID tag?

A. One of the requirements associated with an official 

tuberculin test is that the animal tested must be 

officially identified, with the identification recorded on 

all associated test charts. RFID tags are not required; 

however, some form of identification that qualifies as 

official identification is required. For more specifics 

on official identification options, see USDA’s summary 

of the requirements (cattle section is on page 2) at 

www.aphis.usda.gov/traceability/downloads/ADT_

summary_species.pdf.

Protecting the Food Supply 

Q. Do slaughtered animals suspected of having TB 

enter the food chain?

A. No. Animals that are identified as being suspicious 

for TB do not enter the food chain. Rather, samples are 

collected from them, and those samples are sent to the 

National Veterinary Services Laboratories in Ames, IA, 

or to USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) 

laboratory in Athens, GA, for diagnostic tests. 

Q. If a herd has TB-positive animals, can 

slaughtered animals from the herd enter the food 

chain if they test negative for the disease?

A. Animals from affected herds that test negative 

are inspected by FSIS personnel at slaughter. If an 

inspector finds any signs or symptoms of disease, the 

carcass is condemned and does not enter the food 

chain. If there are no signs or symptoms of disease, 

the carcass is allowed to enter the food chain.

Q. Can TB transmission occur through eating 

infected cattle? 

A. TB infection of muscle, or meat, is rare. Threats 

to human health occur through drinking unpasteurized 

milk or close contact with TB-infected animals who 

are coughing, sneezing, or vocalizing. Please visit 

www.fsis.usda.gov for information on how to properly 

prepare meat products for safe consumption. 
Q. What can I do to help protect my family from 

bovine TB exposure?

A. Below are a few steps you can take to help prevent 

TB exposure:

•	 Do not drink raw or unpasteurized milk.

•	 Do not drink from a cattle watering source.

•	 Limit your exposure to sick animals and time 

spent in enclosed areas with livestock.

•	 Wash your hands well after handling any livestock, 

especially if they are sick or acting unusual.

Q. If I am exposed to a TB-positive animal, will I 

get TB?

A. If you have been exposed to a known TB-positive 

animal, consult your personal physician or local community 

health department and follow their recommendations.

Learn More

For more information on bovine TB, please visit USDA’s 

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service Web site 

at www.aphis.usda.gov. Click on “Animal Health,” then 

“Animal Disease Information,” and then “Tuberculosis.”

United States Department of Agriculture • Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service • Safeguarding American Agriculture

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