New anthrax cases are fewer this week, but authorities warn that producers still need to be vigilant in their approach to the disease.
In Saskatchewan 30 new cases were found in the week ending Aug. 27, with four new premises having deaths.
In Alberta’s first instance of the disease this year, eight dead bison tested positive for the disease on a single farm near Bonnyville, north of Edmonton. That producer voluntarily destroyed 57 other bison that shared the infected pasture.
“There was significant soil disturbance, excavation, on that section of land. That may have been the source of the spores,” said Darcia Nakonechny-Kostiuk of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency.
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The producer was not compensated for the destruction because there is no federal financial compensation program for bison.
Officials said that destruction of uninfected animals is not required because the disease cannot be spread from one live animal to the next.
“In this case it was a producer’s choice to destroy the other animals that shared that land with the infected bison,” she said.
Another CFIA official, Greg Douglas, said the Alberta infection shows how important proper carcass disposal is when it comes to anthrax.
“Those spores may have been buried in the soil for 20 years or 100 years, living in the dirt where a previously infected animal fell or was buried,” he said.
“With this disease you can make problems for the next generations if you’re not careful.”
The federal department recommends burning carcasses with a significant amount of additional fuel, such as a couple of cords of wood, some diesel fuel or another combustible material.
“You may want to then reburn anything that is left over after the fire. Then bury it deeply,” he said.
Nakonechny-Kostiuk said the department along with Alberta Agriculture staff are planning a producer meeting for the Bonnyville area.
“Producers’ best defences against this disease are vaccine and information,” she said.
Douglas said 56 of the 147 infected premises in Saskatchewan have been released from quarantine.
“We’re telling producers to consider their area, whether or not there has been anthrax there in the past and considering that vaccines have been very effective in stemming this flow of infection, when deciding about vaccinating next spring when they giving their annual 8-Way (vaccinations),” said Douglas.
“It is a small cost ($1.80 to $2.25) per dose for a lot of protection,” he said.
Vaccinations are effective from six months to a year. Veterinarians say vaccination and avoidance are the only ways to prevent animals from becoming infected by contaminated soils.
Spores can become concentrated in pockets of soil that have been saturated with water or flooded and when the water evaporates, the floating spores collect in the mud. Animals seeking water or plants to graze come into contact with soil and eat the bacteria.
Saskatchewan has now had 693 anthrax deaths in 44 rural municipalities and Manitoba 137 in eight municipalities. Alberta has had eight stock deaths in a single municipal district.
