Keys to open the gates of locked-in provincial elk industries might be in farmers’ hands in less than a year.
Two teams of researchers are coming close to completing the most demanding work on developing tests for Parelaphostrongylus tenuis (P. tenuis), a parasitic worm that infects deer and elk from Manitoba eastward.
Saskatchewan will not allow eastern animals into the province until a test is developed that can detect the worm, and Alberta has closed its door to every other province except Yukon for the same reason.
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But producers at the Saskatchewan Elk Breeders Association annual convention heard that one
researcher may have a test approved by December and another group may have its test approved by summer 1999.
The tests will have to meet criteria set out by the provincial government, standards that the environment and agriculture departments promise to agree on by summer.
“We’re getting there,” agriculture department veterinarian Al Choquer told producers. “Be patient; we’ll be there.”
The two tests are both designed to spot P. tenuis in infected animals, but they identify different stages of the creature.
Identifies worm, not larvae
The test being developed by the Centre for Animal Parisitology of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency is designed to identify animals infected with P. tenuis larvae. The test developed at the University of New Brunswick doesn’t identify the larvae, but can identify animals infected with adult worms.
Each approach appears to have strengths and weaknesses. The test that relies on identifying adult worms doesn’t reveal an infection during the first two-month stage, in which larvae move from an animal’s digestive system to the spinal cord before growing to full size.
The test for larvae might not be as good at finding animals infected with adult worms, which can survive in deer for 41Ú2 years.
It was on differences like these that producers had the rare sight of researchers taking shots at each others’ work.
University of New Brunswick researcher Mike Duffy defended the time lag his test needs to spot an infected animal by suggesting it could be used well after the winter freeze-up, after which new infections can’t occur.
“I don’t think early detection is a real problem,” Duffy said.
And he questioned the CFIA test’s ability to identify animals infected with adult worms.
“You showed a lot of nice pictures and graphs and stuff, but all your experimental analysis stops at 20 weeks past infection.
“Can you assume that four years later you will be able to detect (animals infected with adult worms),” Duffy challenged.
Centre for Animal Parisitology researcher Dele Ogunremi said his test would spot infected animals long after their first infection.
He later seemed disconcerted by the apparent criticism in Duffy’s comments and questions.
“We haven’t come here to be combative or present any negative impression,” said Ogunremi. “Our purpose was not to attack any other person’s science.”
The sparks arose from the competitive intensity of the fight to develop the definitive P. tenuis test, but Choquer said afterwards the province won’t be picking one test over the other.
“What would be really nice would be if we could get both tests and we could do them simultaneously on an elk,” he said.
No one test will identify all infected animals. Choquer estimates the final tests will be able to find about 93 percent of infected animals.
But if both tests were used, the chance of spotting an infected animal could rise to almost 100 percent, Choquer said.
