CFIA mum on details regarding anaplasmosis find

Tuesday, September 17, 2013

by SUSAN MANN

An eastern Ontario dairy farm under quarantine by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency for anaplasmosis will remain quarantined until all animals testing positive for the disease are removed and destroyed, says a CFIA spokesperson.

The CFIA and the farmer “are working together to determine the best time for this to happen,” senior media relations officer Rachael Burdman says by email. She notes by law CFIA can’t reveal confidential business information, including the precise name or location of the farm. But all cattle on the farm have been tested.

Burdman wouldn’t say how many cows on the farm tested positive for anaplasmosis or how many cows in total the farm has. The cows found positive, though, are being ordered destroyed. CFIA is in the process of having the positive animals evaluated.

The CFIA pay compensation for animals ordered destroyed based on their market value up to a maximum amount stipulated in the regulations governing compensation for destroyed animals.

The farm was placed under quarantine Aug. 2 after a private veterinarian was called to examine a sick animal and a provincial laboratory tentatively diagnosed anaplasmosis from the blood sample he collected. The lab notified CFIA of its initial findings and the agency sent the sample to the National Centre for Foreign Animal Disease in Winnipeg, which confirmed the diagnosis.

A microorganism that is a parasite of red blood cells causes anaplasmosis.

The disease can be spread by ticks, biting flies or through contaminated instruments, such as hypodermic syringes and dehorning equipment. According to a Government of Alberta fact sheet, the disease can cause anemia and, occasionally, death. Symptoms in affected animals may include fever, being off feed, depression, dehydration and difficulty breathing.

The fact sheet says the disease can affect humans but is transmitted via a tick bite. People cannot contract it from contact with cattle or by drinking milk products.

Neighbouring farms around the quarantined one, along with people who may have bought animals from the farm, received letters telling them their animals may have had contact with animals infected with anaplasmosis, Burdman says. CFIA recommends these people consult their herd veterinarian about anaplasmosis testing options.

Letters continue to be sent out as the investigation progresses but Burdman wouldn’t say how many letters have been sent or how many CFIA anticipates distributing.

The quarantine is only on the animals on the farm. They can only leave the premises with a license issued by CFIA, she says. Anaplasmosis is not considered to be a food safety risk so meat and milk can still be sold from animals testing positive for the disease.

Graham Lloyd, Dairy Farmers of Ontario (DFO) general counsel and communications director, says the farmer is still milking the cows and is permitted sell the milk to DFO.

He says the disease does not worry them.

“We wouldn’t put it (the milk) into the system” if it wasn’t safe, Lloyd explains.

CFIA says in a Feb. 25 press release anaplasmosis will be downgraded to the list of immediately notifiable diseases from the list of reportable diseases on April 1, 2014.

Once it’s moved, the agency won’t take control actions and won’t respond to cases.

Reportable diseases are listed in reportable disease regulations and are usually of significant importance to human or animal health or the Canadian economy. Animal owners, veterinarians and laboratories are required to immediately report the presence of contaminated or suspected to be contaminated animals to a CFIA district veterinarian. The agency immediately begins control or eradication measures.

On the other hand, immediately notifiable diseases are listed in the Health of Animals regulations. Laboratories that diagnosis one of these diseases must immediately notify CFIA.

CFIA’s decision to remove anaplasmosis from the federally reportable disease list is based on scientific assessment, the agency’s release says. The disease is established in the United States and there’s a strong probability anaplasmosis will enter Canada from there. Continuing to eradicate it within Canada may not be feasible.

The last time a dairy farm was quarantined for anaplasmosis was in 1996 and that was in southwestern Ontario, Burdman says. BF