Two separate anthrax outbreaks in the Canadian Prairies have killed about 500 animals on an estimated 100 farms, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency said on Monday, marking some of the worst levels in decades. "This outbreak we're dealing with in Saskatchewan certainly is the largest one across the Prairies that we have dealt with," said CFIA veterinarian Sandra Stephens. The federal food safety agency's computer records on anthrax date back only to the 1950s, but Stephens said the number of affected farms in Saskatchewan is the largest in the CFIA's history since then. Anthrax occurs naturally in the Prairies and is a fatal disease caused by a spore-forming bacterium that has been shed by an infected animal, often exposed in soil following flooding or high temperatures. Saskatchewan first reported cattle dying due to anthrax in late June, following spring flooding.
As of Monday, 409 cattle, bison and other livestock had died from the disease with 86 farms quarantined and classified as positive premises. In Manitoba, which borders Saskatchewan to the east, an unrelated anthrax outbreak believed to be caused by hot and dry conditions was first announced on July 20 and has killed 88 animals on 11 farms, Stephens said. The number of fatalities was expected to slow down as thousands of livestock have been vaccinated against the disease. Stephens, however, could not estimate when the outbreaks will end since it is an environmental disease and therefore difficult to contain as the spores are potentially buried anywhere across the Prairies. The disease does not spread between animals, and no animal is believed to have entered the human food or animal feed supply Stephens said. Cattle are the most common victims of anthrax exposure from contaminated soil and outbreaks typically occur in late summer or early autumn. Earlier this month Minnesota, a U.S. state that borders Manitoba to the south, reported its worst outbreak of livestock anthrax in 87 years.
As of Monday, 409 cattle, bison and other livestock had died from the disease with 86 farms quarantined and classified as positive premises. In Manitoba, which borders Saskatchewan to the east, an unrelated anthrax outbreak believed to be caused by hot and dry conditions was first announced on July 20 and has killed 88 animals on 11 farms, Stephens said. The number of fatalities was expected to slow down as thousands of livestock have been vaccinated against the disease. Stephens, however, could not estimate when the outbreaks will end since it is an environmental disease and therefore difficult to contain as the spores are potentially buried anywhere across the Prairies. The disease does not spread between animals, and no animal is believed to have entered the human food or animal feed supply Stephens said. Cattle are the most common victims of anthrax exposure from contaminated soil and outbreaks typically occur in late summer or early autumn. Earlier this month Minnesota, a U.S. state that borders Manitoba to the south, reported its worst outbreak of livestock anthrax in 87 years.
