Role of Animal Identification and Registration in Anthrax Surveillance

A program to control anthrax in Georgia has been instituted by the Georgian National Animal Health Program, which involves the Ministry of Agriculture, the National Food Agency (NFA), and the Laboratory of the Ministry of Agriculture (LMA). Outside of diagnostic testing, epidemiological investigation and surveillance are used to determine the origin of animals affected with anthrax. Tagging cattle with ear tags allows for increased traceability and epidemiological investigation. This abstract, reports the use of ear tagging in cattle to trace the origin of four cases of anthrax in cattle that were fatal.