It’s nearly impossible to predict when and where anthrax will happen, but a disease control specialist with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency says conditions are nearly ideal for an outbreak in Manitoba’s Interlake region.
“The conditions are good this year… and there is a past history in that area as well,” said Betty Althouse, who works out of the CFIA’s Saskatoon office.
Heavy rains last summer and fall, which led to flooding in the Interlake this spring, have likely caused the soil disturbance that anthrax needs to thrive.
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The spore that causes anthrax, Bacillus anthracis, can survive in the soil for decades. Flooding moves spores closer to the surface.
In 2007, more than 70 cattle died in an outbreak that hit 23 farms in the municipalities of Armstrong, Rockwood and St. Andrews.
In its April newsletter, the Manitoba Cattle Producers Association reminded farmers to vaccinate their animals, if they reside in an area with a history of anthrax.
Interlake producers are getting the message, said Garry Butler, a veterinarian in Teulon.
“I’d say more people are vaccinating. It seems like the conditions are perfect for anthrax, if we get some heat,” he said.
The cost of the vaccine is approximately $1.60 per dose, Butler said. Producers who had anthrax before and don’t vaccinate may not be eligible for Canadian Food Inspection Agency compensation if animals die from the disease.
“If you have a disease, like anthrax, that you can vaccinate for… you’re not necessarily going to get compensation,” he said.
Conditions similar
The wet spring in the Interlake this year is similar to the wet conditions in 2006 near Melfort, Sask., when anthrax killed 50 cattle over four days in a 10 to 15 kilometre radius.
Based on CFIA data, 804 animals (including bison and sheep) died on 153 farms across Saskatchewan in 2006, making it the largest recorded anthrax outbreak on the Prairies.
But even with that recent event, Althouse said Saskatchewan producers are starting to let their guard down.
“There was a widespread awareness in 2007, just because of that outbreak in 2006,” said Althouse, adding it seems like cattle producers have quickly forgotten about the summer of 2006.
“I think there was some complacency already last year… We had producers that had cases in 2006, vaccinated in 2007 and didn’t vaccinate in 2008.”
While soil disturbance from flooding is unlikely in most parts of Saskatchewan this year, anthrax also appears when conditions are dry. Wind erosion and cattle foraging for sparse feed can also expose spores buried beneath the surface and result in sporadic cases of the disease.
“Anthrax is an endemic disease in Western Canada and the spores are widely distributed,” Althouse said.
If producers do find a dead animal and suspect anthrax, they should contact the CFIA because it is a reportable disease.
