A Sublette County cattle herd with several cases of brucellosis may cost Wyoming its status as a Class Free brucellosis state. If this happens, cattle producers will have to submit their cattle for testing any time they cross state lines or change ownership.

According to State Veterinarian Walter Cook these tests are expensive, though the state does help with the cost, and labor intensive for producers.

The current cases began with two cows that tested positive in a herd near Daniel. Cook said the herd produced 13 more reactions to the initial screening on Thursday. Those cases will be subjected to a further round of tests to determine if they are positive for brucellosis. So far the infection has been limited to one herd.

If cases are found in more than one herd or if the producer does not depopulate his herd, Wyoming will be downgraded to brucellosis Class A status. All of the non-neutered cattle in the herd would need to be slaughtered and the producer would be compensated for the slaughtered cattle so that he could repopulate.

Cook said there has been talk among producers that the state could also apply for split-state status, where one part of the state would be Class A and one part would be Class Free. The state has to prove that there are enforceable borders on these sections so that cattle from one section could not infect cattle from the other.

“The most difficult part of that is deciding where to draw the line,” Cook said.

To regain Class Free status Wyoming would have to undergo 12 months of Class A testing with no new cases reported. The state can then apply to return to Class Free.

This would not be the first time that Wyoming has been downgraded to Class A status. In 2004, cattle in several herds near Pinedale tested positive and the state was downgraded. Wyoming regained Class Free status in September of 2006 but, according to Cook, officials have still been monitoring cattle herds for the disease more thoroughly than other free states. Cooks said random testing has been done at sale barns across the state, which is how the current cases were first diagnosed.

“It does show that what we were doing was working,” Cook said.

Several state agencies are currently involved in investigating the cause of the infection. According to the United States Centers for Disease Control, brucellosis is a bacterial disease that can cause animals to abort their calves. It can infect many different species including cattle, elk and bison as well as humans through infected milk or organs. In humans it can cause intermittent fever, joint pain and fatigue.

Historically, the main source of infection for cattle has been other cattle. However, since more stringent vaccinations have been enforced in the United States, many of the recent cases have been cross-species contamination.

“We’re pretty confident that those 2004 cases originated in elk,” Cook said.

The source of the current infection is unknown at this time, but there are elk in the area. Cook said it could take weeks to make a final determination of the extent of the infection.