CFIA provides update on bovine TB case in Canada, notes distinct strain

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The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) this week offered an update to the bovine tuberculosis (bovine TB) case found in British Columbia late last year. The disease was found in the southern interior region of the province on October 26, 2018, and was announced publicly in November 2018.

The investigation is on-going, says CFIA, and the agency can confirm a total of four cases of bovine TB have been found in one herd, including the original cow that sparked the investigation. Additional testing of this index herd will continue.

The CFIA reiterates that there’s no risk to the food or supply chain, nor is there a risk to human health.

Trace-out activities are progressing as expected, and animals from the infected herd have been traced to not only parts of British Columbia, but also Alberta and Saskatchewan. Movement controls are in place for roughly 18,000 animals on 25 operations, CFIA says.

CFIA’s Ottawa lab has completed culture testing of the tissue samples collected from the original infected animal. According to the news release, test results of the infected herd have identified the strain of bovine TB to be distinct from any cases previously detected in Canadian wildlife or domestic livestock. This strain is not related to past cases of bovine TB anywhere in Canada.

As the investigation continues,  CFIA will  continue to look into trace-in activities to identify the previous movements of any animal that would have had contact with the infected herd over the past five yeas.

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