Vaccinate cattle to cut anthrax risk, CFIA tells prairie ranchers
(CBC) - The Canadian Food Inspection Agency is recommending that all ranchers in the Prairies vaccinate their cattle against anthrax, to curb what has been described as the worst outbreak in the last 20 years.
Sandra Stephens, a veterinarian with the agency, told CBC News that the deadly disease has now killed 209 cattle on 48 quarantined farms in eleven rural municipalities in Saskatchewan.
Worse, the disease has moved across the province to Chaplin, and into southeastern Manitoba where five farms have been quarantined after the death of 24 cattle and one horse.
The original outbreak was restricted to the area north of a line from Wynyard, Sask., to Prince Albert.
One person, a man in his 50s from the Melfort area, has contracted a mild form of the disease, the first human case in Canada in 15 years. He is being treated with antibiotics and is expected to make a full recovery.
The previous case occurred in Vancouver when a woman contracted the disease from a woollen scarf.
With the new outbreaks, federal officials are worried that the disease may spread across the Prairies into any area where there was flooding this spring.
Cases likely for months
"We're at risk of seeing cases through the summer and into the fall," Stephens said. "In general we recognize that we have the potential to see anthrax virtually anywhere across the Prairies."
The agency is now recommending that ranchers vaccinate their livestock as a preventive measure. More than 8,500 cattle have been treated so far, with 70,000 extra doses now available.
Stephens told CBC News that vaccinations may not be necessary in all cases, but they are good insurance against the disease.
"We would suggest that all producers that have livestock grazing on pasture should consider that as something they should do for their herd," she said. "And certainly they should be talking to their veterinarians about that."
Anthrax is a relatively common disease in the rural areas of northern Saskatchewan and Alberta, but does not usually cause a serious problem as long as an outbreak is isolated quickly.
It cannot be transferred between humans, but is rarely transmitted to humans from infected soil, hides or meat, causing skin lesions and boils. On rare occasions, it moves into a person's stomach or lungs, causing a more serious infection.
(CBC) - The Canadian Food Inspection Agency is recommending that all ranchers in the Prairies vaccinate their cattle against anthrax, to curb what has been described as the worst outbreak in the last 20 years.
Sandra Stephens, a veterinarian with the agency, told CBC News that the deadly disease has now killed 209 cattle on 48 quarantined farms in eleven rural municipalities in Saskatchewan.
Worse, the disease has moved across the province to Chaplin, and into southeastern Manitoba where five farms have been quarantined after the death of 24 cattle and one horse.
The original outbreak was restricted to the area north of a line from Wynyard, Sask., to Prince Albert.
One person, a man in his 50s from the Melfort area, has contracted a mild form of the disease, the first human case in Canada in 15 years. He is being treated with antibiotics and is expected to make a full recovery.
The previous case occurred in Vancouver when a woman contracted the disease from a woollen scarf.
With the new outbreaks, federal officials are worried that the disease may spread across the Prairies into any area where there was flooding this spring.
Cases likely for months
"We're at risk of seeing cases through the summer and into the fall," Stephens said. "In general we recognize that we have the potential to see anthrax virtually anywhere across the Prairies."
The agency is now recommending that ranchers vaccinate their livestock as a preventive measure. More than 8,500 cattle have been treated so far, with 70,000 extra doses now available.
Stephens told CBC News that vaccinations may not be necessary in all cases, but they are good insurance against the disease.
"We would suggest that all producers that have livestock grazing on pasture should consider that as something they should do for their herd," she said. "And certainly they should be talking to their veterinarians about that."
Anthrax is a relatively common disease in the rural areas of northern Saskatchewan and Alberta, but does not usually cause a serious problem as long as an outbreak is isolated quickly.
It cannot be transferred between humans, but is rarely transmitted to humans from infected soil, hides or meat, causing skin lesions and boils. On rare occasions, it moves into a person's stomach or lungs, causing a more serious infection.