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Video: Field testing

Field testing can sometimes have its challenges. You'll hear from veterinarians about the difficult conditions they faced while testing 12,000 to 15,000 cattle in -30 Celsius weather.

Field testing – Transcript

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency corporate introduction plays. It shows images that represent the work of the Agency, including a petri dish, strawberries, a growing plant, a chicken and a maple leaf.

Text: CFIA - Safeguarding with Science

Text: Field testing

On screen speaker: CFIA Incident Commander of the Emergency Operations Centre in Alberta, Rick James-Davies.

It's been one of the really gratifying parts of managing this event. You know, those are tough situations on those farms but I've been amazed at the number of compliments we've received from the producers about CFIA staff, their professionalism and their dedication. Long hours and some really really cold temperatures. The producers have had very nice things to say about both CFIA and then likewise, my staff talking about those same producers. Again those are stressful, hard situations and I hear time and time again from my staff how warm and hospitable and welcoming that the producers are. They remarked a number of times that the producers are so appreciative that we had people really come from all across Canada to come to their farms and help them in the dead of winter.

On screen speaker: CFIA Animal Health Inspector, André Coderre.

I went to Alberta for almost a month. I left on November 27 and flew back home on December 23, right before Christmas.

Photo of cattles in Alberta's prairies at sunrise.

We'd usually leave for the farms around 7:30 or 8:00 in the morning and drive about an hour or 1 hour 15 minutes for some of the teams.

Photo of André Coderre standing next to a cattle in a squeeze chute.

On the farms, we would do blood tests and tuberculin testing.

Photo of a CFIA inspector standing outside in the cold next to a bull in a squeeze chute. She is wearing a neck warmer that is covered in frost.

Group photo of CFIA staff sitting in a barn to eat. They are dressed up in winter gear. Fog if coming out of the soup they are eating and from their breathing as well.

We'd spent all day outdoors - without exception - with temperatures down to -25, -32 degrees Celsius. These were very difficult conditions for testing.

Photo of André Coderre lifting a cattle's tail to take a blood sample and holding the plastic cap in his mouth.

Injections and blood tests require dexterity. We need to know what we're doing and see where the needle goes in.

Panoramic photo of CFIA staff performing tests on cattles. A table is set outside with boxes of blood collection tubes and needles.

We faced several challenges: we needed to keep the liquid for the injections from freezing; the blood collection tubes had to be kept warm so that the air inside could create a vacuum when blood was drawn; the needles sometimes froze; then once the blood was in the test tubes, we had to put them in a warm place quickly enough so that the blood wouldn't freeze. So the cold caused a lot of problems.

Footage of dozens of Black Angus cattle.

We had to test between 12,000 and 15,000 cattle that had been in contact with the initial herd where the positive cattle was found.

Photo of CFIA staff preparing needles and blood collection tubes.

Photo of a CFIA staff lifting a cattle's tail to take a blood sample.

The tuberculosis test is an intradermal injection of tuberculin into the caudal fold. We would then return 72 hours after the injection to see if there was a reaction.

Photo of cattles. Two of them are marked with a orange "X" on their head

If so, the animal was classified as a reactor, marked with an X and sent to the slaughterhouse.

On screen speaker: CFIA Animal Health Inspector, André Coderre.

When we were doing our follow-up visits to the farms, it was not easy to explain the situation to the producers. They were very upset because they did not know what would happen to their animals.

To give them a directive that their animals would be slaughtered… it was very difficult for them. It was not easy for us because those people were in a difficult situation.

Footage of two women walking on a farm. No animals can be seen.

We had to hold back tears several times because it is very difficult on a human level to see families in distress.

Canada wordmark. Copyright Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Canada (Canadian Food Inspection Agency), 2017.

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