Researchers became aware of the disease almost a century ago, when cattle near South Park started dying mysteriously.<\/p>\n
Around the mid-1960s, however, the sudden deaths were linked to cattle not being well-adapted to high-country living.<\/p>\n
Dewey Baird, a third-generation rancher in La Plata County, runs cattle on Missionary Ridge, north of Durango, where the highest elevations reach 11,000 feet. He said he used to lose one or two of his herd every year because of brisket disease.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was bad in the \u201970s, and clear up to the mid-\u201980s,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The problem for many ranchers is that the sickness typically doesn\u2019t show symptoms. In some instances, cattle can be lethargic or have difficulty breathing. But many times, cattle are out in the backcountry and either found dead or not found at all.<\/p>\n
For these reasons, Schafer said it\u2019s difficult to get an estimate of just how many cattle die a year from the disease.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a hard number to get,\u201d he said. \u201cA lot of producers might never know for sure why they died, or even find them.\u201d<\/p>\n A new way of testing cattle that may be more susceptible to the altitude sickness has allowed ranchers who run cattle in the high country to select breeds better adapted to mountainous terrain.<\/p>\n The test, called \u201cpulmonary artery pressure,\u201d or PAP for short, was developed to help detect early on which cattle are most at risk by measuring blood pressure and estimating the force an individual animal requires to push blood into the lungs.<\/p>\n The higher the pressure, the less capable the animal will be at surviving at high elevations.<\/p>\n But Beth LaShell, coordinator of the Old Fort in Hesperus, said cattle must be tested at high elevations around 6,500 feet for accurate results, and there\u2019s not many places in the state where ranchers can go.<\/p>\n \u201cSo when you\u2019re buying bulls, you need to ask what elevation they\u2019ve been tested,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n The Old Fort for the past two years has had an agreement with CSU to test the school\u2019s cattle.<\/p>\n Davin Montoya, a rancher near Hesperus, said before testing became commonplace, he\u2019d lose 5% of his herd to brisket disease, which translates to a big loss in profits.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was a significant number,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Montoya now tests his herd at elevations between 10,000 and 11,000 feet.<\/p>\n \u201cNow, we seldom ever have an animal that has brisket,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n With proper testing and selection, ranchers in Southwest Colorado agree the disease can be avoided, or at least significantly reduced.<\/p>\n Recently, however, an emerging trend with the disease is cause for alarm.<\/p>\n LaShell said the elevation threshold for brisket disease was traditionally thought to be around 7,000 feet. But now, researchers are finding the sickness in cattle in feedlots in Nebraska and Kansas at elevations around 3,000 feet.<\/p>\n \u201cIt could be a game-changer on how the disease affects animals,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Schafer said PAP testing is currently the only tool to help ranchers avoid the disease, which still holds a lot of unknowns.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s still an evolving science,\u201d he said. \u201cWe\u2019re trying to learn more about it.\u201d<\/p>\n