Feb. 25, 2010 - Dr. Dee Ellis has spent most of his life preparing for his latest position as the State Veterinarian and Executive Director of the Texas Animal Health Commission (TAHC).
Ellis, who took over the post Jan. 1, grew up on a dairy farm in Comanche County. His father also worked with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) as a brucellosis inspector, and the younger Ellis often tagged along.
Later, while pursuing his Animal Sciences degree from Texas State University (then Southwest Texas State University) in San Marcos, Ellis went to work for the USDA as a livestock inspector, before going to Texas A&M University for his degree in veterinary science. He went to work for the TAHC in Gonzales directly out of college, a job he considered stop-gap at the time.
"My idea was to work temporarily for the state while I built my own clinic," he said. "Twenty-five years later, I still don't have that clinic. But I enjoy what I do. Our responsibilities have expanded a great deal over the years. In the early days, the commission worked 100 percent on brucellosis. Now, there are a number of disease issues that we are involved with."
The TAHC, which was formed in 1893 to address the Texas fever tick problem, has the legislative authority to make and enforce regulations to prevent, control or eradicate infectious animal diseases related to cattle, swine, poultry, sheep, goats, horses and exotic livestock. That includes such high-profile issues as brucellosis, trichomoniasis in cattle and equine infectious anemia in horses.
Texas was declared "brucellosis free" two years ago. Ellis said the state is now transitioning to the end of the brucellosis program, if not the problem, in Texas.
"We continue to look for it (brucellosis) five years after being given the free status," he said. "We're beginning a dialogue with the livestock industry on how to end the program. It's been successful, even if it took 40 years for it to be successful.
"One of the complicating factors now is that feral swine brucellosis can jump to a cow from the feral hogs. We're working with the state department of agriculture and Texas Wildlife Services on feral swine, and part of that is addressing the brucellosis issue."
About six weeks before Ellis took over as the TAHC executive director, a tick-related blood disease of horses, equine piroplasmosis, was detected on a South Texas ranch. Canada and several U.S. states have imposed movement restrictions or additional entry requirements for horses being taken out of state.
"We're testing all of the horses sold from that ranch," Ellis said. "We don't know how they got infected originally. We're still trying to determine how many animals have been exposed or infected." He said about 20 percent of more than 1,700 horses tested positive for the disease. Most of those were traced back to the ranch where it was first found.
Ellis began his duties at the same time that new regulations regarding cattle trichomoniasis went into effect. Trichomoniasis is a sexually transmitted disease in cattle is spread from the bull to the cow or from the cow to the bull. Cattle that test positive for trich can be treated if they are not re-infected, but bulls are doomed to slaughter if they test positive. The spread of the disease into Texas resulted in new state regulations earlier this year.
Bulls entering the state must now be certified as virgin or the bulls must have tested negative for trich within 30 days prior to the animal's entry into the state, according to the new regulations. The bull must have a breeder's certificate with the animal's age, identification and breeder's signature along with a brucellosis ear tag, brand, tattoo or state trich tag. Untested and non-virgin bulls can enter the state only for slaughter.
Also, bulls changing possession for breeding within the state must be certified as virgins or have a negative trich test before the change of possession is made.
"It's an industry-driven program," Ellis said. "This was something the industry wanted to address before it became a major issue."
The TAHC also functions as a key part of the state's emergency management team, coordinating efforts in the wake of natural emergencies, such as Hurricanes Ike and Rita, when large numbers of livestock were affected.
"That requires a tremendous amount of prior planning, as well as quick work when it's time for evacuation or dispersion," Ellis said. "During Hurricane Ike, we worked with the Southwest Texas Cattle Raisers, AgriLife Extension, the Independent Cattle Producers Association and the Texas Department of Agriculture. We have to be trained to deal with an outbreak of diseases or an emergency response. It takes up a lot of time, but it's worth it when we are required to take action."
The TAHC executive director also faces the challenge of administering a budget that requires a five percent reduction in costs. Ellis said a priority for him and the commission in the budget process has been to make the cuts without losing any personnel.
"We have not had to lay anybody off," he said. "Our people are our first and most important priority. We have good people working for the commission, and people in the state have come to expect a high level of service from us because of that."
