Animal health protection is vital to food safety and public health, the trade of Canadian livestock and livestock products, and the economic well-being of Canada's agriculture sector. We work closely with provincial and territorial governments, and livestock and poultry industries to prevent animal disease and conduct regular surveillance activities. Surveillance activities are important because they help to demonstrate Canada's freedom from specific diseases.
One such activity is the Bovine Surveillance System (BSS). Through the BSS, we collect and analyse information gathered from different sources to support Canada's claim that it is free from brucellosis and bluetongue in cattle.
On this page
- BSS process
- Abbatoir component
- Meaning of a positive serological test result
- Our actions if a sample tests positive
- Risk to human health
BSS process
We use both new and historical data in BSS activities. These sources include periodic surveys, abattoir surveillance, targeted surveillance, and testing through the import/export and artificial insemination programs. Similar surveillance systems exist for the detection of specific diseases in swine and poultry.
Under the BSS, information is regularly collected and analyzed which enables us to assess the status of brucellosis and bluetongue in Canadian cattle on a continuous basis. Large periodic surveys, conducted every three to five years, have been replaced by the abattoir component of the BSS.
Abattoir component
Blood samples are randomly collected from cattle at slaughter on an ongoing basis and sent to a CFIA laboratory. There, they go through a series of screening tests known as "serological tests". If one of the samples tests positive, we conduct an investigation.
Approximately 3,000 samples will be collected and tested every year under this component of the BSS.
Meaning of a positive serological test result
A positive result from a serological test means that an animal may have been exposed to a virus (bluetongue) or bacteria (Brucella) at some point previously. It does not mean that an animal is currently infected. A positive result provides an indication that further investigation is required.
Our actions if a sample tests positive
When serological testing turns up a positive result, we locate the animal's farm of origin and traces the animal's movement history. We would visit the premises where the suspect animals lived to assess the health of the herds and to complete an epidemiological investigation. Additional samples would be taken from the herds for testing at a CFIA laboratory.
If an animal is confirmed to be infected, we may initiate a variety of disease control measures, which may include quarantine, testing and possibly ordering destruction of infected/exposed animals, depending on the disease. Producers may be awarded compensation for animals that are ordered destroyed by us for disease control purposes.
Risk to human health
There is no risk to human health associated with bluetongue.
While brucellosis can cause a disease in humans called "undulant fever", human cases are rare in Canada. Sanitary practices in slaughterhouses and pasteurization of milk are effective in preventing many human cases of brucellosis.