Anthrax

[Oldtimer]

Boy these guys up north are having a rough go...This is one thing I worry about every year- seems like every year anthrax pops up in a different spot around us- altho I don't think I remember any cases as extensive as this lately...

Anthrax keeps killing



Sarah Macdonald, Saskatchewan News Network

The Leader-Post (Regina)

July 08, 2006



SASKATOON -- More animals have succumbed to the anthrax outbreak around Melfort, including farmed bison and farmed white-tail deer, as farmers and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) try to keep the toxin contained.



"We have 27 quarantined premises in the Melfort area, and we've had 106 suspected or questionable deaths," said Dr. Greg Douglas, a veterinarian with the CFIA.



Five deaths of anthrax have been confirmed so far, and many more results are pending, Douglas said. He said most of the dead animals are cattle, but there have been positive anthrax test results for bison and white-tail deer carcasses too.



A crew of about 25 people, including veterinarians, inspectors and support staff, is dealing with the outbreak. Local veterinarians from Melfort are also helping farmers vaccinate their herds.



"As of today we have dispensed 5,000 doses of vaccine," said Ross Hawkes, a summer student at a veterinary clinic in Melfort.



"We are also in charge of distributing the vaccines to necessary areas. It's in such short supply," he added.



Hawkes said most animals in the affected areas are being vaccinated, including cattle, horses, goats and sheep.



He said the CFIA bought an emergency supply of vaccinations from the United States.



There have been anthrax outbreaks in Saskatchewan before, Douglas said, but nothing quite like this. Anthrax spores can survive in soil for 50 to 250 years, he explained.





canada.com

 

[IluvABbeef]

There's anthrax in the soil up near Rocky Mountain House, Alberta, too. it's been around there for quite a while. pretty scary...

 

[Bluestem]

There is anthrax in the soil everywhere. Something has happened to disrupt the balance in the soil, giving the anthrax the upper hand.

 

[3MR]

There is anthrax in the soil everywhere. Something has happened to disrupt the balance in the soil, giving the anthrax the upper hand.

yup

 

[DiamondSCattleCo]

We're gettin a little nervous around here. The closest case is now 45 miles from us, but we still can't get vaccines. Just not enough available in North America to satisfy the need.

Its now moved into the Smeaton area, and there are a fair number of cattle over there. My ranch is just on the fringes of heavy cattle country, so if it moves over into this area, the financial loss to the area will be bad news.

Rod

 

[Oldtimer]

We're gettin a little nervous around here. The closest case is now 45 miles from us, but we still can't get vaccines. Just not enough available in North America to satisfy the need.

Its now moved into the Smeaton area, and there are a fair number of cattle over there. My ranch is just on the fringes of heavy cattle country, so if it moves over into this area, the financial loss to the area will be bad news.

Rod

Sorry to hear that Rod- thought that might be fairly close to you...Luckily all the outbreaks we've had around here previously were pretty well contained in a couple herds- but I know how nervewracking it can be...Good luck......

 

[Oldtimer]

Latest Update


Farmers struggle to halt anthrax outbreak



TENILLE BONOGUORE

From Wednesday's Globe and Mail

July 12, 2006

Canada



Thin ribbons of smoke curling into the northern Saskatchewan sky have become the marker of death for farmers battling to contain an anthrax outbreak that may have lain dormant in the soil since wild bison roamed the land generations ago.



In the two weeks since anthrax was discovered in a dead bull in Melfort, 136 animals on 21 properties have died of the disease.



The Canadian Food Inspection Agency said there is no way to know the extent of contamination, which emerged for the first time around Melfort after spring rains saturated the ground and brought the spores to the surface.



But it may be the most widespread anthrax outbreak in Saskatchewan since CFIA started keeping records 25 years ago, said Dr. Sandra Stephens, a Saskatoon-based veterinarian with the agency.



A vaccination campaign is being hamstrung by a lack of vaccine, and farmers are roaming their pastures trying to identify sick animals before the fast-acting anthrax kills them.



Livestock anthrax does not spread between living animals or through the air, but Dr. Stephens said spores could be on any property that was flooded, and could have been there for decades.



"This could be a problem in a very wide area. We could potentially see outbreaks through the rest of summer," Ms. Stephens said.



So far anthrax has killed cattle, horses, bison, sheep, goats and whitetail deer, sometimes in a matter of hours.



The CFIA says the outbreak does not pose a significant human health threat. No animals from the quarantined properties were sent to slaughter, and livestock anthrax rarely affects people, an agency bulletin states.



The outbreak is centred on Melfort, a town of about 6,000 people 175 kilometres northeast of Saskatoon. Most of the affected premises lie to the northwest, toward Prince Albert, which is 75 kilometres away, while two properties are toward the town of Wynyard, which lies 130 kilometres to the south. There are about 180,000 head of cattle in the affected area.



Cattle farmer Ken Tegstrom has lost four bulls on his 200-head property 35 kilometres northwest of Melfort, and now spends his days roaming his pastures to check for early signs of illness. But the increasing summer heat is making that job even more difficult as the animals become docile.



"You drive around inspecting your animals and you expect the worst all the time. You see smoke two to three miles down the road and you know your neighbour's burning another animal. It's quite depressing," Mr. Tegstrom said in a phone interview.



Carcasses of infected animals must be disposed of quickly and the contamination contained to prevent other animals coming into contact with anthrax-laden bodily fluids.



Mr. Tegstrom said that so many animals died last week, farmers had no time to bury or burn them. Instead, the CFIA decontaminated the carcasses by dousing them in formaldehyde and then covered them with tarpaulins for later disposal.



"The odour is a bad part and hard to deal with. It's harder to see and more stressful than getting rid of them quickly," he said. Farmers are now banding together to provide wood for the pyres, he said.



The Tegstrom family has worked that property since the 1940s, and Mr. Tegstrom said he had never seen anything like the current situation.



"It's very stressful. The whole community is exhausted. Anthrax is going to be something we never forget," he said.



All livestock -- more than 5,000 animals -- have been vaccinated in a 10-kilometres radius around the anthrax-positive properties to create a buffer zone, said veterinarian Eldon Pederson, co-owner of the Mohawk Animal Clinic in Melfort.



But as more properties test positive, he said vaccine supplies have run out. He has 11,500 doses on order, and a neighbouring clinic is waiting for 6,000.



"We still have people in that six-mile zone that are not vaccinated yet," Dr. Pederson said. "There's urgency all right, especially for animals close to the outbreak. Animals at high risk need to be vaccinated again in two or three weeks after the initial dose."



It takes about eight days for the vaccine to take effect, during which time further deaths may occur. Because anthrax was not known to be in the area, animals have not been routinely vaccinated against it, but Dr. Pederson said that is likely to change now.





theglobeandmail.com

 

[IluvABbeef]

Here's some info on Anthrax that I learned if anybody's interested. Some of it you may already know, I understand, but I'm posting it just the same.

Anthrax is one of the oldest diseases known to humankind. It is caused by a bacterium, Bacillus anthracis. The disease in livestock is usually fatal in cattle, sheep, goats, and horses. While swine and dogs are more resistant to the acute disease causing death, they are known to develop extensive swelling in the neck area. Disease outbreaks have occurred in specific wildlife groups such as bison in Wood Buffalo National Park.

Anthrax bacteria grow in anaerobic conditions (lack of oxygen) and have the ability to form spores when exposed to air and warm temperatures. The opening of a carcass or discharges from infected animals can induce spore formation.

The spores are very resistant to destruction and may survive for extremely long periods of time. Depending on local conditions, anthrax spores can survive for years in soil and water. They can also be transported by the wool, hides, or other products from infected animals. Once anthrax has occurred in an area, the possibility that it will recur under the right environmental conditions remains. While it is possible to transmit anthrax from animal to animal, most cases of anthrax are related to exposure to spores from previous outbreaks reverting to the bacterial phase through environmental changes, such as erosion or flooding.

Symptoms
Anthrax runs its course so rapidly that it can be difficult to diagnose in live animals. Symptoms that may appear immediately before death are high temperatures, bloody discharge, and swelling in the neck and shoulder areas. Although anthrax infection may respond to antibiotic therapy, sudden death is usually the characteristic sign of the disease in livestock. Vaccines are available to protect livestock

Precautions to take
Under federal legislation, all suspected cases of anthrax must be reported. If you suspect an animal has died of anthrax, immediately contact the nearest Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) Animal Health District Office. Do not handle or move the carcass. The most important step in controlling anthrax is the proper disposal of infected carcasses in accordance with official disease control measures.

The CFIA has a control program for anthrax. Affected herds are vaccinated and placed under quarantine until 30 days have elapsed after the last case. The federal government provides indemnity payments under the Health of Animals Act to owners whose animals die of anthrax, as part of an official program to control or eradicate diseases considered a threat to Canada's livestock population.

Human health implications
Anthrax is primarily a disease of livestock, but people who have been exposed to an infected carcass or spores of the bacteria from another source can contract human forms of the diease. There are three ways of contracting anthrax:

1. Inhalation - anthrax spores are breathed in through the nose or mouth
2. Cutaneous - the spores enter the body through an open wound on the skin, such as a cut or abrasion when handling contaminated products or infected animals;
3. Intestinal - the disease may occur after eating contaminated meat.

Anthrax does not spread from person to person, and antibiotics can be used to treat this disease in humans.

(From: Canadian Food Inspection Agency, Animal Products, Animal Health and Production)

Sorry for it ending up being so long, just though it was interesting.

 

[andybob]

What is the situation as far as importing vaccines is concerned?
Anthrax was always a standard vaccination due to the large number of wild antelope etc on our farms. The Ondesterpoort veterinary institute in Pretoria, South Africa, is a world class laboritory producing vaccines for local use and export (they were the only source of African Horse Sickness vaccine during an outbreak in Spain some years ago.)

 

[DiamondSCattleCo]

Vaccines are finally starting to flow to us now. For the first couple weeks, distribution was restricted to 6 mile radius around infected, or suspected farms. Many of those farms have been taken care of now, so those of us on the outlying areas are receiving vaccines. Mines here Monday morning, critters are gonna be vaccinated Monday afternoon.

Rod