CFIA investigating bovine TB from B.C. cow

Nov 20, 2018

Inspectors discovered the disease after processing

By Diego Flammini
Staff Writer
Farms.com

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) is looking into a new case of bovine tuberculosis.

On Oct. 26, officials at a Brooks, Alta. processing facility inspected a cow from a British Columbia farm and found lesions in the animal’s lymph nodes, lungs and liver.

“The carcass was condemned, and no portions of the animal entered the food chain,” the CFIA said yesterday.

Inspectors shipped samples to a CFIA laboratory three days later, and on Nov. 9, test results came back positive for bovine TB.

The animal came from a herd of about 200 cows, said Kevin Boon, general manager of the B.C. Cattlemen’s Association.

He has contacted the producer from the originating farm and the individual is cooperating with the investigation.

“The producer has met with the CFIA to discuss the situation,” Boon told Farms.com. “The big thing now is to make sure the disease doesn’t spread. The CFIA is working closely with the index herd and its owners. I would expect testing on the herd to begin fairly quickly.”

But Boon doesn’t expect a quick resolution to the CFIA’s work.

“If you look at the bovine TB scenario in 2016, the investigation will be thorough,” he said. “It might take a few years to get all the answers we need.”

The agency took more than a year to complete its investigation into the 2016 bovine TB outbreak. The situation started on Sept. 16 with a cow from Jenner, Alta., and the CFIA closed its investigation in April 2018.

That outbreak resulted in the culling of 11,000 animals and the CFIA paid affected producers a total of $39 million.

SteveOehlenschlager/iStock/Getty Images Plus photo

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