- Jeff - A brucellosis vaccination tag was found on the
infected animal and suggests American origins because Canada eradicated
that disease and stopped vaccinating for it in the mid-1980's.
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- Dr. Brian Evans is the chief veterinary officer of the
Canadian Food Inspection Agency. Evans is the person who said "that
the brucellosis vaccination tag that was apparently found on the infected
animal suggests the possibility of American origins because Canada eradicated
that disease and stopped vaccinating for that disease in the mid 1980s."
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- Here is the source:
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- http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type
- 1&c=Article&cid=1072567809093&call_pageid=968332188492&col=968793972154
-
-
- Here is another link to information re: brucellosis
and Canadian regulations on a British Columbia website:
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- http://epix.hazard.net/topics/animal/brucella.htm
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- Brucellosis, a contagious disease caused by bacteria
of the Brucella group, affects cattle, swine, sheep goats and man and some
wildlife.
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- Canada's national cattle herd was declared Brucellosis-free
on September 19, 1985, although monitoring continues. Eradication of this
disease was acheived after extensive programs that dated back to the 1940's.
At that time it was estimated that 11 % of cattle and 18 % of herds were
infected with brucellosis. Efforts to control the disease by vaccination
of calves with Strain 19 Brucella abortus vaccine reduced the incidence
to 5% in 4 years. In 1957 a national test and slaughter program was introduced,
resulting in elimination of the disease 28 years later. In cattle, brucellosis
affects the reproductive organs and causes abortion in pregnant cows. It
can be costly in terms of reduced milk yields and calf crops, reduced values
of affected cattle, and the expense of replacing animals. Abortion of the
fetus is the most obvious manifestation of the disease. This usually occurs
in the firth to eighth month of pregnancy. Most infected cows abort once,
but some may abort a second or third time. Some cows become temporarily
sterile as a result of inflammation of the uterus caused by the disease.
When an infected cow aborts or calves, vast numbers of Brucella organisms
are shed with the fetus or placenta, or in vaginal discharges which may
continue for several weeks. The infected material may be spread about the
pasture, yards or stables, contaminating the feed and water and thereby
spreading the disease to other cattle.
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- Bulls may contract brucellosis. When infection becomes
localized in the testicles or adjeacent organs of the genital tract, the
affected bull usually remains fertile, although fertility and libido may
be reduced. Bulls may shed the bacteria in their semen if their genital
organs are affected.
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- The disease in humans is known as undulant fever and
may be contracted if a person drinks raw milk from an infected cow or comes
into direct contact with infected material such as an aborted fetus or
placenta.
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