Francisco Beltrão Plans Tests for Nearly Its Entire Dairy Herd
Francisco Beltrão recorded its largest cattle cull on Friday the 13th, when 42 dairy animals were slaughtered after testing positive for diseases subject to sanitary control. Thirty had brucellosis and 12 had tuberculosis. Fábio Monteiro, the veterinarian responsible for Paraná’s agricultural defence agency, Adapar, in the municipality, said the figure did not itself indicate an unusual zoonotic problem.
Monteiro said both diseases occur in herds across Paraná, but testing is not carried out everywhere at the same scale. In Beltrão, the local authorities are pursuing a preventive programme involving the municipality’s dairy farms. Fifteen cattle had already been removed in August. A further 25 were due to be slaughtered during the week covered by the report: 21 for tuberculosis and four for brucellosis.
Testing has identified suspected infected animals on 78 rural properties. As many as 192 cattle could still be removed, and the programme is continuing with 17 veterinarians working in the field. Monteiro said producers compare the cost of removing one animal with the possible loss of a larger number of cattle if infection spreads within a herd. He also cited the daily contact between families and their animals as a public-health consideration.
Some farmers had previously avoided testing because they considered it too expensive. “There is no longer that excuse,” Monteiro said. The municipality now covers part of the cost, and veterinary services are provided at the farms. The timing of confirmation differs between the two diseases: a second test for tuberculosis can take about 60 days after an initial positive result, while the procedure for brucellosis generally takes about a week.
The Rural Development Department expects to conduct more than 50,000 tests for the two diseases by the end of the year across more than 2,700 dairy properties. More than 500,000 reais has been allocated to subsidies, and the 17 veterinarians were hired through a public call. Daniela Celuppi, the department’s secretary, said at a meeting of Paraná’s legislative assembly in Curitiba that the target was to approach testing the entire herd. She linked the programme to milk quality and to reducing families’ exposure to zoonotic diseases.
There are two procedures for dealing with animals selected for destruction. Under one, the farmer asks the city government to dig trenches on the property and the military police to kill the animals by shooting, after which the carcasses are buried. The other is sanitary slaughter under the supervision of official veterinary inspectors. That method is considered more appropriate in the report because it covers sanitary requirements; only some internal organs are recovered, for rendering.
