Fact Sheet - Anaplasmosis Program Adjustments

What is changing?

Effective April 1, 2014 anaplasmosis will be removed from the list of reportable diseases and placed on the list of immediately notifiable diseases. This change will mean that:

  • only laboratories will be required to report suspected or confirmed cases to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA)
  • the CFIA will no longer respond to anaplasmosis cases
  • the CFIA will no longer conduct surveillance for anaplasmosis to verify Canada’s status for the disease

Why are these changes being made?

The Agency regularly reviews policies and procedures to identify what works well and what needs improvement. By making these changes the Agency will be able to focus more resources on emerging diseases and pandemics.

How did the CFIA arrive at this decision?

The decision to remove anaplasmosis from the federally reportable disease list was based on scientific assessment. The decision reflects the fact that anaplasmosis is established in the United States. There is a strong probability that anaplasmosis will enter Canada from the United States and the continuing to attempt to eradicate the disease within Canada may not be feasible.

Will this decision affect human health?

No. There is no human health risk associated with this disease.

A human disease, human granulocytic ehrlichiosis (HGE) was renamed as human anaplasmosis in 2003, but this disease is caused by a different micro-organism.

Will these changes affect trade?

No. These changes are not expected to affect the trade of Canadian livestock and related products.

How will anaplasmosis be managed in the future?

Laboratories will be required to contact the CFIA if they suspect or diagnose the disease. This will enable the CFIA to meet the annual reporting requirements of the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE).

Will the CFIA continue to respond to anaplasmosis cases until the changes come into effect?

Yes. The CFIA will continue to respond to any anaplasmosis cases until March 31, 2014. However, activities will be scaled back in preparation for the program ending.

As part of the interim approach the Agency will continue to test infected herds and perform trace outs during disease response investigations. The Agency will inform producers if their animals have been in proximity to an infected herd. However, effective immediately, the CFIA will no longer:

  • test susceptible animals in the areas surrounding an infected herd
  • test susceptible animals who may have come into contact with the infected herd.

Producers should talk to their veterinarian about testing if their animals are or have been in close proximity to an infected animal or herd.

CFIA is working with provincial laboratories to develop testing capacity for anaplasmosis so that private veterinarians will be able to submit samples for screening. A list of laboratories currently approved by CFIA to perform the testing for Anaplasma is available upon request.

Producers are encouraged to monitor their animals for signs of disease and to contact their veterinarians if they suspect their animals may be infected.

What can livestock producers do to reduce the risk of anaplasmosis?

Livestock producers will continue to play an important role in keeping their animals healthy. Producers are encouraged to talk to their veterinarians about disease prevention on farm.

The collective management practices known as farm-level biosecurity can also help protect against disease.

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