Anthrax outbreak worst on record
At least 28 herds now under quarantine
Rod Nickel, The StarPhoenix
Published: Tuesday, July 11, 2006
The anthrax outbreak east of Saskatoon is the worst on record in Saskatchewan, with at least 28 herds now under quarantine and 113 suspicious animal deaths.
The numbers of both are climbing and may continue to do so throughout the summer, said Dr. Sandra Stephens, a Saskatoon-based veterinary program specialist with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA).
"It would appear, at this point, we probably have more premises involved than we've had in previous cases of anthrax in Saskatchewan," she said.
CFIA records date back 25 years.
The CFIA continues to vaccinate all animals on farms that have tested positive for anthrax from its reserve supply. Some veterinarians in private practice, however, have run out of vaccine.
"This is an area that doesn't typically see anthrax, so veterinarians don't typically have it in stock," Stephens said in a media conference call.
There is no shortage of vaccine with the manufacturer, Stephens said, only a challenge of getting it to the area quickly enough.
More than half of the quarantined farms have been re-tested and confirmed for anthrax at the CFIA's laboratory in Lethbridge.
The quarantined farms fall within four rural municipalities: Spalding and St. Peter east of Humboldt and Willow Creek and Kinistino southeast of Prince Albert. Most farms under quarantine raise cattle, but operations with horses, swine, bison and white-tailed deer have also been quarantined, Stephens said.
Farmers who have lost animals to anthrax may qualify for an indemnity of $500 a head for cattle and $350 per horse. The indemnity is available to encourage farmers to report anthrax cases and to dispose properly of carcasses.
Anthrax is caused by spore-forming bacteria that can spread among animals through contaminated feed, soil or pasture during grazing.
[email protected]