June 11, 2007

Anthrax quarantine on Manitoba farm to be removed soon

The quarantine of a south-eastern Manitoba cattle farm will likely be removed later this month after all grazing animals on the premise are vaccinated and there are no further mortalities, according to an official with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency.

Confirmation of the anthrax disease on the premise was made on May 28, said Dr Sandra Stephens, a disease control specialist with the Saskatchewan regional division of the CFIA.

"The producer reported a cattle mortality to his local veterinarian and they submitted samples into the Prairie Diagnostic Labs," Stephens said. "This resulted in the confirmation of the death in which the anthrax spore was identified."

She said the anthrax spore was found on the same cattle farm last year. The producer had vaccinated all his cattle in July 2006 and was in the process of vaccinating his cows again for the summer when the death occurred.

The vaccination's duration was pegged at six months to 12 months, Stephens said.

"All the 300 grazing animals on the premise have been treated with an antibiotic and will be or have already been vaccinated," Stephens said. An eight-day period is required between the antibiotic and the vaccination, she said.

It was not uncommon for animals on pasture to be exposed to anthrax spores, according to Stephens.