Search KamloopsBCNow
Canadian Food Inspection Agency says there is no risk to human health or the food supply following a positive test for bovine tuberculosis.
The news comes following a positive bovine TB test from a farm in B.C.’s southern Interior, where a mature beef cow was found with suspicious lesions on its organs.
According to the agency’s chief veterinary officer no parts of the animal entered the food chain.
Officials are now working to to identify the specific strain and trace movements of the animal to track the potential spread of the disease.
The passage of fluids from an animal to an open skin sore, extended close contact with an animal with active respiratory tuberculosis or by drinking unpasteurized milk from an infected animal can lead to exposure to the disease.
Six cases of bovine TB were identified in cattle from a single Alberta farm in 2016, leading to tests of 34,000 animals from 145 farms.
However, those tests showed the disease did not spread from the original farm and international shipments of Canadian beef were never interrupted.
Despite this month’s isolated case, Canada is considered to be officially free of bovine TB, with human cases of the disease being very rare.
With files from the Canadian Press.