Bluetongue has been found in a southwestern Ontario cattle herd, the first time the viral illness has been found outside British Columbia’s Okanagan Valley.
It is also the first time a specific serotype, bluetongue 13, has been found in Canada other than in an imported animal.
Ontario’s ministry of agriculture announced Sept. 3 that two cattle tested positive Sept. 2 on the same farm as another animal had tested positive Aug. 7.
Bluetongue is an immediately notifiable disease that can affect trade of live animals to other countries that are free of the virus.
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According to Ontario Agriculture, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency has informed the World Organization for Animal Health about the bluetongue cases.
“Although the disease primarily affects sheep, it also has great economic impact on the cattle industry because cattle can carry the virus post-infection and show no clinical signs,” said the release.
“Loss of bluetongue-free status in Canada means immediate suspension of export certificates for live animals, semen and embryos until certificates can be negotiated with trading partners. Trade of beef for human consumption will not be impacted.”
Bluetongue is carried by biting insects and can affect sheep, goats, cattle, bison, deer and elk.
Previous cases in B.C. are considered to have come from insects that blew in from the United States, where several serotypes of the virus, including serotype 13, are considered endemic.
Cattle and goats can carry the bluetongue virus without showing outward signs, but it is a serious illness in sheep.
That has the Canadian Sheep Federation and Ontario Sheep Marketing Agency on alert.
Dennis Fischer, chair of OSMA, said in a Sept. 3 news release that the threat “is now present and real,” and warned producers to be aware of the recent discovery.
It is impossible to control biting insects but he encouraged sheep producers to keep animals away from wet and low-lying areas and keep them in barns at night to minimize risk.
Bluetongue can cause serious illness and death in sheep. Symptoms include purple or blue-coloured tongue, fever, red linings of mouth and nose, swollen lips and tongue, difficulty swallowing and breathing, lameness and abortion.
There is no specific treatment and there is no vaccine available for serotype 13, the Ontario ministry said.
Bluetongue is not spread by contact and there is no human health or safety risk.
