The Sidney herald., 1961-07-05
Cattle Losses
From Anthrax
In Poplar Area

Cattle losses from Anthrax have
occurred this week near Poplar on
the Missouri and RedWater rivers.
The diagnoses has been confirmed
in the new Montana Livestock
Sanitary Board diagnostic labor
atory at Bozeman, according to
DR.. G. G. Halver, Chief Deputy
State Veterinarian from Helena.
Eight head of cattle and one deer
have died of Anthrax on 5 premis-
eS Immediately adjacent to the
Redwater and Missouri Rivers in
McCone, Roosevelt and Richland
Counties.
"The source of the infection has
not yet been determined" DR.. Hal
yer stated in a rancherS education
al meeting at the Elks Hall in Wolf
Point on Monday night. "This out
break may have resulted from
some factor favorable to the e
activation of spores left in the
ground many years ago possibly
as far back as the demonstrating
years" The germ can resist I'M
favorable conditions and remain
alive in a shell or spore covering
for many years, DR.. Halver pointed
out.
Limited and minor outbreaks of
anthrax have occurred in recent
years in eastern Montana. In
August, 1857, there was a loss of
eight cattle on four premises on
West Charlie Creek in Richland
County. One rancher south of Saco
lost nine COWS in July of Last year.
State Services personnel have
been assigned to the Poplar area
for search and inspection, dag
noSis, and disposal of carcaSSeS and
contamination. Mr.. Buck Holt o1
Fort Peck, Pilot Warden for the
Montana Fish and Game Commits
sion, has been plotting veterinar-
ians in a Commission plane or
early morning inspections of live
, stock and game in the loss area
4 He has also been delivering Speci.
mems collected by the veterin'
arians directly to the Bozemal
laboratory.
DR.. H. w. Jacobson of Havre
District Deputy of the Montana
Livestock Sanitary Board, is IL
charge of the control work nortl
1 of the Missouri River. DR.. S. II
Flora, District Deputy at Mile
City, is handling the same worl
in McCone and Richland Counties
Also assisting is DR.. Left Septor
Assistant Veterinarian in charg
from the U. S. Animal Diseas
Eradication Division at Helena
DR.. Harry Hopson, %veterinar.
practitioner at Wolf Point, VIII
first reported the problem, ]
doing the vaccination and treat
q ment of the farm animals. "Thes
" people have proven to be very ei
Il fective in locating the dead AM
mails promptly, and accomplishin
N diagnosis, disposal, and herd i'm
u m~unization in the shortest poSSibl
time" Halver said, "and this
n important n avoiding wide are
a spread"
There will be no area quarar
tine, Halver made known, but tT
infected herds and those herr
adjacent to them are being vaccil
ated and must be quarantined
days. A "buffer zone" of waco
mated herds is being establish
around the infected herds iii Il
lower five miles of the Redwate
Incidental losses from anthrs
can continue" the veterinari;
said, until a week after the her
have been completely vaccinatec
Horses. sheen. and swine are al
being vaccinated where neceSsa
for control purposes.
Ranchers of the area were I
quested at the Wolf Point meeti,
to watch their livestock We
closely and promptly report
their veterinarian any losses tt
occurred Cattle affected w.
anthrax die very Soon and {
- seldom seen Sickened.