The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) has confirmed three cases of bovine tuberculosis (bovine TB) in Saskatchewan.
On Nov. 29, 2024, bovine TB was detected in a six-year-old cow at a federally registered facility in Alberta. The CFIA identified a herd in Saskatchewan as the herd of origin of the infected animal.
The herd was placed under quarantine and testing began – eventually leading to the three positive results.
Now, with the confirmed cases – all animals more than a year old will be tested to determine how far the infection has spread within the herd, after which the entire herd will be euthanized.
The CFIA noted that the three infected cows were not born in the quarantined herd.
Laboratory tests found that the strain detected in the cow has never been identified in animals or humans in Canada – with the origin of the strain being unknown as well.
A full investigation will include the testing of herds that have been in contact with the infected animals, the tracing of animals that left and joined the infected herd in the past five years.
The tracing results from a 2023 investigation of a bovine TB infected herd in Saskatchewan did not identify any connection to the latest outbreak.
Bovine TB has been the subject of a national eradication program since 1923. While Canada is considered to be free of the disease, isolated cases in cattle still occur.
