A northern British Columbia bull confirmed to have bovine tuberculosis last fall may have exposed more than 1,000 animals to the disease, says a Canadian Food Inspection Agency update.
All of the animals are being traced to determine their location and assess their exposure to bovine TB. All animals that are confirmed to have been exposed will be killed and tested for the disease. There is no live animal test for bovine TB.
The B.C. ranch where the infected bull lived before being shipped for slaughter as part of a herd dispersal remains under quarantine. All cattle on the farm were slaughtered and tested for the disease. An assortment of other animals still on the farm will soon be slaughtered and tested.
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After the animals are removed, the ranch will undergo cleaning and disinfection.
Quarantine has been lifted on the Alberta farm where the bull lived for one year before it was sold to the B.C. ranch.
Canada’s livestock herds are considered to be free of bovine TB, but isolated cases can occur, the CFIA update said.
Bovine TB is a reportable disease in Canada and can infect all types of mammals, including humans. Infection usually results from extended, close contact with an infected animal.
