Alberta has reported its first cases of anthrax this season, but to the east incidents of the disease are on the decline.
For the first time in two months, no new cases of anthrax were found in Manitoba. At the same time, Saskatchewan cases have dried up along with that province’s sloughs.
Alberta’s first cases of 2006 have appeared in a bison herd in the municipal district of Bonnyville, north of Edmonton, and are that province’s first cases since two cattle died in 2001.
Overall, this year is Canada’s worst on record for anthrax infections.
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Greg Douglas of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency said the drought conditions that create new cases are lingering across the West, but producers’ vaccination efforts are combating the risk.
“Vaccinations are stopping the disease from claiming more animals in areas that are at risk,” he said.
More than 500,000 doses of vaccine have been distributed in Saskatchewan alone.
Some producers are still vaccinating this season depending on their level of risk.
Douglas said producers must consider their risk and if their animals might be exposed, then add the anthrax vaccine to their spring round of vaccinations.
“At between a $1.80 and $2.30 per dose, it’s cheap insurance,” he said.
Anthrax bacteria can survive in the soil for years. Spores will percolate to the surface during floods, and float around on the surface of the water pools as they evaporate.
This concentrates the spores creating high-risk environments for livestock, especially if drought follows flooding.
As grazing becomes more difficult, stock will eat closer to the ground until they consume contaminated soil with the plant matter that still exists around the former water pools.
It remains unclear what the Alberta cases mean to that province’s livestock producers.
Chris Clark of the Western College of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Saskatchewan said producers should contact a veterinarian for advice.
Anthrax isn’t a threat to humans because the animals quickly die and aren’t part of the food production chain. The bacterium doesn’t spread between herd mates, so each infection is unique.
Saskatchewan’s cattle herd has lost 663 animals to the disease so far. Four new cases appeared over the past weekend, but no new premises were infected. So far 143 premises have been infected in 44 rural municipalities.
Manitoba had no new cases in the past week. So far, 134 stock deaths have occurred on 20 premises in seven municipalities.
Alberta CFIA officials weren’t available for comment about the infections there in time for Western Producer press deadlines.
