Joanne Maxymovich was alarmed last week when one of the cows at her family’s farm started showing symptoms of anthrax, a deadly bacterial disease.
Other farmers in her area were losing cattle to the disease and Maxymovich feared the worst.
“It looked like someone had given her a tranquilizer. Her head was hanging down.”
By midnight the same day the cow was dead. Federal veterinarians later confirmed anthrax was the culprit.
The Maxymoviches farm in southeastern Manitoba near Vita. Their farm is one of five under quarantine because of an anthrax outbreak in the area.
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The tally of dead cattle continued to climb last week and had reached two dozen by Aug. 21. Anthrax had been confirmed on three of the five farms.
The dead animals had to be burned and then buried to lessen the danger that the anthrax bacteria will spread.
When Peter Jaman was interviewed Aug. 19, he had already burned more than a dozen dead cattle. Seven of his cows were missing, he said, possibly because they had succumbed to the disease.
Brush and marsh in the area’s pastures make it difficult for farmers to account for all their animals.
“I wasted a whole week trying to burn (dead cattle),” said Jaman, who spent half his winter supply of firewood for the burnings. “I just can’t keep up.”
About 460 cattle are being vaccinated against the disease, said George Luterbach of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency.
The disease is not expected to spread beyond the affected area, Luterbach said Aug. 18. The first suspected case of anthrax showed up more than two weeks ago.
Left on their own
Maxymovich said there has been little government support to manage the outbreak. The only support available last week was a couple of federal veterinarians, she said.
Farmers were left to find wood needed to burn the dead animals and equipment needed to dig a pit for the charred remains.
“Everyone here is trying to work together to get this thing under control,” Maxymovich said. “We don’t know if we’re going to lose any more. We have to wait seven to 14 days for the vaccine to kick in.”
She said the federal veterinarians who traveled to Vita ran out of vaccine for anthrax part way through the week. Two days passed before a new supply arrived.
The farmers will receive a $500 indemnity from the federal government for each animal killed by anthrax.
Money will help with the costs of disposal and cleanup, but does not compensate for the value of the animals.
“That isn’t fair either,” said Maxymovich, who placed the value of the cow they lost at $1,000, not including the unborn calf.
Anthrax bacteria migrate rapidly to the bloodstream, overwhelm the body and kill cattle, usually within 12 to 24 hours.
As the bodies decay, spores from the bacteria are seeded on the ground, prompting the need to burn and bury the carcasses.
Anthrax spores can survive in the soil for many years.
“We know there are little pockets of anthrax spores potentially throughout the Prairies,” Luterbach said.
There were reports earlier this month of 20 cattle dying in North Dakota because of anthrax. Hundreds of cattle there were vaccinated against the disease.
The disease has also exacted a heavy toll this summer on bison in the Wood Buffalo National Park, which straddles the border between Alberta and the Northwest Territories.
The bacteria strain found near Vita is different from the one cultivated for biological warfare against humans.
There has never been a case of a person in Manitoba dying from the anthrax disease, Luterbach said.
However, people in the Vita area exposed to the infected herds are taking no chances. They have been placed on antibiotics as a precaution against infection.
“It’s been devastating,” said one witness to the calamity.
“People here just don’t know what to do.”
