A disease survey of Alberta’s sheep industry has pronounced the province’s flock to be in good health.
“From what we’ve seen here, it’s pretty good,” said chief provincial veterinarian Gerald Ollis.
In the largest cull ewe survey in Canada, 350 ewes were tested for a variety of diseases and bacteria to get a snapshot of the health of Alberta’s 150,000-sheep flock.
The cull ewes were tested for scrapie, Johne’s disease, ovine progressive pneumonia, caseous lymphadenitis, mastitis and foot rot.
They were also monitored for gastrointestinal parasites and liver flukes, the presence of bacteria such as salmonella and E. coli in the feces, and tested for the resistance of these bacteria to antibiotics.
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Scrapie was not detected in any of the ewes, which Ollis said was good news. However, more tests are needed to definitely say Alberta is free of scrapie, he added.
“I think we need more than that to have confidence scrapie is at a low level in Alberta.”
Johne’s disease was detected in three percent of the ewes. No foot rot was detected with a visual examination.
Parasites and bacteria were found, but not in a level higher than expected from cull ewes.
It’s unlikely the survey will be repeated because of cost, Ollis said. Producers donated the ewes and Alberta Agriculture did the testing.
