This spring, Alpharma Animal Health of Bridgewater, N.J., a global animal health company, will offer an online webinar that discusses the status of anaplasmosis in the United States. The webinar is based on an expert panel that convened in 2009 featuring Dr. Hans Coetzee and Dr. Denny Hausmann, experts with vast experience managing the disease and incorporating new strategies for diagnosis and control. Each case of this tick-borne disease is estimated to cost about $400 per animal, and the total cost to the industry is estimated at $300 million in the United States, according to Alpharma. Awareness of anaplasmosis is becoming increasingly important as the disease now appears well beyond the areas that are considered endemic; anaplasmosis now has been diagnosed in all of the contiguous 48 states. New research shows that anaplasmosis is more complicated and multi-faceted than many veterinarians and producers may have believed. While producers in the southern U.S. – where anaplasmosis is considered endemic – are familiar with the disease, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s latest cow-calf survey (USDA-NAHMS Beef Study) reports that, overall, 14 percent of producers know some basics about the disease; 16 percent are “fairly knowledgeable” about it; 23 percent recognize the name, but not much else; and 47 percent had not heard of it before. The webinar provides a continued education credit hour for veterinarians; producers and other cattle industry stakeholders also are encouraged to participate. To participate in the webinar, call Ryan Dunn at Alpharma, 908-429-6000, Ext. 58625, or e-mail ryan.dunn@alpharma.com. <HOME>
