Laboratory tests run on a cow that had a symptom that may have been compatible with highly contagious foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) were negative, according to Louisiana Ag Commissioner Bob Odom.
Samples from an animal found with lesions on its tongue at a slaughter facility in Abbeville, La., Friday, Feb. 27, were sent to a lab and were found to be negative, Odom said.
Agriculture is on high alert for any type of foreign animal disease in light of recent Avian Influenza discovered in Texas and mad cow found in the state of Washington.
"We moved on this as quickly as possible to ensure the health of Louisiana's livestock industry and the public food supply," Odom says. "FMD is a highly contagious livestock disease and can spread very rapidly once it gets started.
"In a matter of hours our meat inspector delivered the appropriate specimens to our state veterinarian and U.S. Department of Agriculture officials on Friday," he adds. "We sent the animal's tongue off to the Foreign Animal Disease Laboratory in Plum Island, New York, Friday and had the negative results back on Saturday afternoon."