WeCAHN Podcast: Strangles Risk and Prevention in Western Canada 5th Jan. 2025 Dr. Ashley Whitehead, a large animal internal medicine specialist at the University of Calgary’s faculty of veterinary medicine, reviews recent disease patterns of equine strangles infections in western Canada and the most effective biosecurity strategies to protect your herd. Equine strangles, a bacterial infection known as Streptococcus equi subspecies equi, is of concern to anyone who shows, trains, breeds, transports or travels with their horses. LISTEN TO THIS EPISODE: LINK
Morasch Meats Recall Naturals Brand 2lb Feline Turkey Recipe Raw & Frozen Pet Food Due to HPAI Contamination 26th Dec. 2024
The Oregon Department of Agriculture (ODA) is alerting pet owners that samples of Morasch Meat’s Northwest Naturals brand 2lb Turkey Recipe raw & frozen pet food tested positive for a H5N1 strain of the Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) virus. Testing conducted by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) National Veterinary Services Laboratories (NVSL) and the Oregon Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory (ODVL) at Oregon State University confirmed a house cat in Washington County contracted H5N1 and died after consuming the raw frozen pet food. Tests confirmed a genetic match between the virus in the raw and frozen pet food and the infected cat.
“We are confident that this cat contracted H5N1 by eating the Northwest Naturals raw and frozen pet food,” said ODA State Veterinarian Dr. Ryan Scholz. “This cat was strictly an indoor cat; it was not exposed to the virus in its environment, and results from the genome sequencing confirmed that the virus recovered from the raw pet food and infected cat were exact matches to each other.”
FOR MORE INFORMATION: LINK
CFIA detects bovine tuberculosis in Saskatchewan 17th December 2024 On November 29, 2024, the CFIA Ottawa Laboratory Fallowfield found that tissues collected from a six-year-old cow at slaughter in a federally registered facility in Alberta had a positive polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test for bovine tuberculosis. Working with the information in the Canadian Livestock Traceability System, the CFIA identified a herd in Saskatchewan as the birth herd/herd of origin of the infected animal. This herd has been placed under quarantine until testing can be completed. The timing of testing will be determined after discussions with the producer to manage the operational impact of the process. The CFIA is continuing to work closely with producers, industry associations, and provincial and federal agricultural and health authorities throughout the investigation. All areas of Canada have been considered officially bovine TB-free in its farmed bovine and cervid species since 2006. An investigation of this detection will support international market access for Canada’s beef industry. FOR MORE INFORMATION LINK
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Beef surveillance in western Canada
Poultry surveillance in western Canada
Dairy surveillance in western Canada
Smallholder livestock production surveillance in western Canada
Companion animal surveillance in western Canada
Small ruminant surveillance in western Canada
Equine surveillance in western Canada
WeCAHN maintains libraries of western Canadian animal health surveillance information, projects and programs, and disease updates. We welcome your contributions!
