Blue Tongue - Anaplasmosis

[rob]

I am searching for information on blue tongue and anaplasmosis, particularly in what way and to what extent will these diseases affect the Alberta cow herd in light of the recent relaxation of import restrictions. Information such as symptoms,transmission, vaccinations, preventions, etc. would be welcomed. Should I as a cow-calf operator be concerned about my herd being infected?

[jmillang]

I'm curious as to what your concerns are with respect to relaxed regulations, the has been a relaxation of the import regualtions as a requirement of testing for anaplasmosis and blue tongue and brucellosis under the Northwest Cattle project for feeder cattle. (you can read the letter of understanding that includes some definitions and procedures at this URL http://www.cfia-acia.agr.ca/english/corpaffr/international/recorde.html#2.%20Expansion%20of%20the%20Northwest %20Ca The jist is that only areas or countries that can demonstrate to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency that they pose a low incidence and low risk of infection to the Canadian herd will be considered for acceptance under relaxed rules. Under the North West cattle project the areas that are included are very much like our own with respect to incidence and severity of the diseases. But the CFIA has still methods in place as to what animals can be imported and where they can go and what practices must be followed once those imported animals have arrived at their final destination. Here is another link for background on the NorthWest Cattle Program. http://www.agr.ca/cb/trade/canus/northe.html

[rob]

My concerns center around whether or not the restrictions that formerly were in place for the testing of anaplasmosis and blue tongue were originally put in place for legitimate herd health reasons or for trade restrictions. The thinking today seems to suggest that all border restrictions are trade motivated and that herd health concerns are trivial. Our decision makers may be willing to sacrifice the health of our cow herd for the sake of easing trade tensions. Thanks for pointing out the web sites. It is difficult to find information on this topic. No one, and I mean no one, is talking about blue tongue or anaplasmosis right now, a bit of a political hot potato. I noticed you neatly side stepped my question as well. Simply put, the US cow herd is infected with blue tongue and anaplasmosis, the Canadian herd is not. Viewing the cattle industry on a regional basis rather than on an national basis makes sense but when you realize how far cattle can be hauled with today’s trailers, how can anyone know with certainty where any animal really originated from, was it Montana, Washington or an area where bluetongue and anaplasmosis are prevalent. US cattle are being shipped into feedlots throughout Alberta by the tens of thousands, it is naïve to believe that all are free of these two diseases. Is this a concern for our cow producers? (I was able to find out that blue Tongue and anaplasmosis are diseases of the cow herd and do not show up in a feedlot even though the animals may be infected and carrying the disease) I suspect that we are better off without these diseases but am trying to find out more about them as I am, like most beef producers, relatively in the dark about just what kind of problem they could be. Thus my concerns. If we keep getting more diseases we will soon have to use Cattlemaster 10 instead of Cattlemaster 4. (Wonder what that would cost?) I will restate my question again: I am searching for information on blue tongue and anaplasmosis, particularly in what way and to what extent will these diseases affect the Alberta cow herd in light of the recent relaxation of import restrictions. Information such as symptoms, transmission, vaccinations, preventions, etc. would be welcomed. Should I as a cow-calf operator be concerned about my herd being infected? Can anyone shed a little light on blue tongue or anaplasmosis for me? Thanks.

[jmillang]

Here are a couple of web pages that deal with some of your information needs. I found these by simply using a search engine (Lycos in this case) http://agpublications.tamu.edu/pubs/eanim/b5098.pdf (note this is an Adobe acrobat file) http://www.vetnet.ucdavis.edu/vetext/INF-BE_cca9905.html (this is an updated factsheet from University California @ Davis (on of the better Dairy research centers)) http://www.vetnet.ucdavis.edu/vetext/INF-BE_cca980708.html http://www.vetnet.ucdavis.edu/vetext/INF-BE_cca9504.html http://www.agr.state.nc.us/vet/cattle.htm is a listing state by state of disease status and transportation certificates Those are some for now. One of your best sources is still you local Vet, or contact Agriculture Canada's Federal Vets.

[rob]

Thanks Jeff. The sites you listed provide a very good overview of anaplasmosis. I was able to eventually find a few sites on my own, particularly relating to bluetongue. As to whether or not we should be concerned about the U.S. cattle coming in and the potential for bluetongue and anaplasmosis to become established in Alberta and Canada, I will just swap with you some web sites I found in my searches and let any interested producers form their own opinions. Bluetongue: http://www.brs.gov.au/usr-bin/aphb/ahsq?species=-1&disease=BT&occurs=-1&cause=-1&oielist=-1&format=html&topics=3&Doit=Retrieve#R040T http://www.usaha.org/speeches/btwus97.html http://www.oie.int/Info/AIS_38.HTM#Sec5 http://aceis.agr.ca/cb/news/n51018be.html http://www.uwyo.edu/special/usda_ars/contents.htm And for information on the importance of bluetongue and anaplasmosis internationally: http://www.oie.int/diseases/A_defn.htm http://www.oie.int/diseases/A_list.htm http://www.cfia-acia.agr.ca/english/ppc/science/surv/98oie_e.html FYI, the Northwest Cattle Project is now known as the Canadian Restricted Feeder Cattle Import Program and North Dakota and Idaho will be able to ship calves into Alberta along with Montana and Washington. Some information where the Canadian beef industry is heading on this issue: http://www.producer.com/articles/19990930/market_quotas/19990930mkt04.html http://www.cattle.ca/prov%5Fassoc/acc/01news/nr90925.html http://www.cattle.ca/prov%5Fassoc/acc/01news/nr90828.html http://www.cfia-acia.agr.ca/english/corpaffr/international/recorde.html http://www.cfia-acia.agr.ca/english/corpaffr/international/recorde.html#CANADA-U.S.%20ACTION%20PLAN%20REGARDIN