Office of the Chief Provincial Veterinarian: Animal Health & Disease Information

Reportable Diseases: Are those that are a serious threat to public health or animal health and can cause serious economic, political and social impacts to the livestock industry and/or the province. These diseases require action to control or eradicate.

Notifiable Diseases: Are diseases of concern that do not require action, but should be monitored to establish prevalence or trends “

To protect human and animal health, the OCPV has monitoring and testing programs in place to prevent and control the spread of diseases to the livestock and poultry sectors. The OCPV carries out programs related to animal health and production and to prevent the spread of certain domestic animal diseases.

Anaplasmosis in cattle is an infectious disease of the red blood cells caused by the rickettsial bacteria Anaplasma marginale. Most commonly transmitted by ticks, A. marginale primarily causes disease in cattle. Other domestic and wild ruminants such as bison, deer, elk, sheep and goats can be infected, but clinical disease is uncommon.

Effective April 1, 2014 Anaplasmosis is no longer a federally reportable disease and is now listed as immediately notifiable disease.

Livestock producers play an important role in keeping their animals healthy and are encouraged to talk to their veterinarians about the disease and prevention of the disease.

Anthrax is an acute bacterial disease caused by the bacterium Bacillus anthracis. The source of infection is through exposure to a contaminated environment. Virtually all animals are susceptible to anthrax, but herbivores including cattle, sheep, goats and horses are especially susceptible. Omnivores such as pigs and humans are somewhat less susceptible, while carnivores such as dogs, cats, wolves and bears are relatively resistant. Birds are least susceptible.

Anthrax has been reported in most Canadian provinces, including Alberta

AF has established a provincial anthrax response plan to assist affected producers so that animal and public health are protected. AF will respond by (1) providing assistance in diagnosing the disease and (2) working with your private veterinarian to provide advice on how to protect your herd and prevent spread of the disease to other herds and animals.

Anthrax remains a federally reportable disease and a provincially notifiable disease; therefore, veterinarians must report all suspect and confirmed cases of anthrax to the CFIA and Office of the Chief Provincial Veterinarian within 24 hours. AF will assist with diagnostic testing for anthrax in cases where anthrax is suspected and with advising on management and recovery from outbreaks.

Avian influenza (AI), sometimes called “avian flu” or “bird flu,” is a contagious viral disease that affects the respiratory, digestive and/or nervous systems of many bird species.

Bluetongue is a vector-borne viral disease caused by an orbivirus. Important means of transmission is biologically through midge bites (Culicoides spp.). Most ruminants are susceptible to infection but clinically important disease is largely restricted to sheep. Cattle are the reservoir and amplifying hosts.

Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy, or BSE, is a progressive, fatal disease of the nervous system of cattle. It is one member of a family of diseases known as transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs). Other TSEs include scrapie in sheep and goats, Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) in deer, elk and moose, and Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (CJD) in humans.

The parasite Tritrichomonas fetus is transmitted when an infected bovine breeds with a susceptible one. Infected bulls are often the main source of introducing the infection into uninfected herds. Testing of bulls and prevention measures should be undertaken prior to the breeding season

In late September 2016, bovine tuberculosis (TB) was detected in a cow that originated in southeastern Alberta. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) is leading the disease investigation.

Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is a progressive, fatal, degenerative disease of the brain of free ranging or farmed ungulates (elk, mule deer and white-tailed deer). While CWD and BSE are both from the group of related diseases called TSEs, it is important to note that they are not the same disease and have differences in mode of transmission and symptoms. Also, CWD is not known to affect humans.

Equine herpesvirus-1 is associated with several disease syndromes including abortion, neonatal septicemia, upper respiratory tract disease and a neuropathogenic form known as equine herpesvirus myeloencephalopathy (EHM).

Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) is an extremely contagious disease affecting cloven-hoofed livestock and wildlife species, including cattle, pigs, sheep, bison, elk, deer, wild boar, llamas, etc. It is a viral disease causing fever and vesicles that rupture in the mouth and on the skin of the udder and feet.

ILT is a respiratory disease of chickens, pheasants, pheasant crosses and peafowl. It is highly contagious and is spread either by infected birds or other birds through mechanical means.

ILT is uncommon in commercial poultry operations in Alberta. ILT is more commonly found in hobby or fancy flocks.

Johne's disease (paratuberculosis) is a chronic debilitating disease that affects the intestines of all ruminant animals, including cattle, sheep and goats. This disease is caused by Mycobacterium Avium Subspecies Paratuberculosis (MAP); Infection with MAP is usually acquired by consuming feed and water contaminated with manure from infected animals.

Acute lead toxicity in cattle occurs as a result of consumption of feed contaminated with lead or access to a source of lead such as old batteries from automobile and farm machinery, lead based paints and used engine oil.

Cattle which have been exposed to a source of lead can have elevated levels of lead in their blood without showing any outward signs of clinical disease. The blood lead levels in these cattle can remain elevated above the maximum acceptable concentration of 0.11 ppm for an extended period. It is important that we identify the cattle with elevated lead levels and take precautions to prevent products such as milk and meat from these animals entering the human food chain until the levels have declined below the maximum allowable limit.

MCF is an infectious, viral disease of many ruminants, including bison. MCF is caused by a group of viruses that belong to the herpes virus family. In North America, MCF is caused by ovine herpes virus-2 (OHV -2), which infects sheep with no ill effects and spreads to susceptible species. Bison tend to be very susceptible, and deaths are frequent in exposed animals.

Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea (PED) is a highly contagious, viral disease of pigs that does not currently occur in Alberta, but is present in the United States. PED causes severe diarrhea and death in suckling pigs and milder diarrhea in older pigs. Any sudden onset of unusual diarrhea should be investigated immediately by a veterinarian.

As of January 20, 2014, all known or suspect cases of PED occurring in Alberta must be reported to the Chief Provincial Veterinarian (CPV) within 24 hours.

Effective April 1, 2014, any domestic or wild animal suspected of carrying rabies infection must be reported to the Office of the Chief Provincial Veterinarian (CPV) within 24 hours. You can report by calling 1–844–427–6847.

SDCV is from the same family of viruses as the swine diseases porcine epidemic diarrhea (PED) and transmissible gastro enteritis (TGE). It causes diarrhea and vomiting in all age groups and mortality in nursing pigs.

Pandemic H1N1 influenza is a mild disease in most people, pigs and turkeys. It can spread from people to people, and occasionally from people to pigs, people to turkeys, as well as from pigs to people. To protect your animals, do not allow people who are experiencing flu symptoms to enter your swine or poultry barn for seven days after symptoms have disappeared.

Certain species of tick (such as Ixodes scapularis and Ixodes pacificus) are considered to be possible carriers of Borrelia burgdorferi, the bacteria that causes Lyme disease. These ticks will be tested for the presence of the bacteria to better understand the risk of Lyme disease in Alberta.

The West Nile virus (WNV) is a mosquito-borne virus that can cause swelling and inflammation of the brain and spinal cord in horses, birds and humans. Only specific species of mosquitoes spread WNV. In Alberta, the species of mosquito of concern is Culex tarsalis, which becomes infected when feeding on infected wild birds. Only domestic geese, horses, mules and donkeys appear to be severely affected by WNV, and may develop clinical disease. Preventive measures should be discussed with your local veterinarian.

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