Indiana plans 2 meetings on monitoring bovine tuberculosis

BROOKVILLE, Ind. (AP) - State officials are hosting two meetings this month in southeastern Indiana about the state's ongoing efforts to monitor wild deer for bovine tuberculosis.

The public meetings organized by the Department of Natural Resources and the State Board of Animal Health come as the state is planning to create a new bovine tuberculosis surveillance zone in Franklin County and adjacent Fayette County.

Such surveillance involves testing lymph nodes from deer taken by hunters for signs of bovine tuberculosis.

That chronic bacterial disease primarily affects cattle, but has been found in some wild deer in southeastern Indiana.

The first bovine TB meeting is 6 p.m. Thursday at Franklin County High School, following by a Sept. 12 meeting at the Franklin County Government Center. Both buildings are in the town of Brookville.