FRANKFORT —Testing will soon be under way to determine the extent of bovine tuberculosis after two beef cattle in a Fleming County herd tested positive for the disease.

The Office of the State Veterinarian and the U.S. Department of Agriculture are working together on the situation and were formulating a plan of how to proceed with the testing process as of late last week, according to Ted Sloan, a spokesperson for the Kentucky Department of Agriculture.

The disease was discovered last month when a cow was slaughtered in a Pennsylvania plant and tested positive, according to State Veterinarian Robert C. Stout. The rest of the herd was tested, and two other cattle were suspected of having the disease. The USDA purchased the two animals and had them slaughtered and necropsies performed. One had a suspicious lesion and tested positive for bovine tuberculosis.

Authorities are waiting on the results of tests on a third animal, which could take up to 10 weeks, officials said. The three animals did not enter the food supply. Read More...