What are the symptoms of bovine TB?
There are no “giveaway” signs of bovine TB in cattle. Cattle can be infected for a long period of time (months to years) before showing any outward signs of TB. Infected animals may gradually become thinner, less active, and depressed. Because the infection usually involves the lungs, animals may have difficulty breathing, cough, or show nasal discharge. Many of the animals found infected in Minnesota since 2005 have shown no signs of the disease. At slaughter, classic signs of bovine tuberculosis are abscesses filled with a gritty white or yellow substance in the lungs or lymph nodes.
