Please note the following information is in addition to what the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) already communicates to stakeholders which includes:
- notification to the relevant provincial veterinary service of any newly affected premises;
- monthly federally reportable disease updates on the CFIA website (10th of each month), which includes the number of affected premises as well as individual animal cases; and,
- communications with the owners or persons directly involved in the case, as outlined in the current EIA program policy.
On March 18, 2019, a positive EIA result was confirmed by the CFIA’s national reference laboratory for a horse located on a premises in the rural municipality of Big River, SK. The horse had been sampled by an accredited veterinarian at the owner’s request after they became aware of a potential epidemiological link to a recently identified EIA-affected premises. No clinical signs of disease were noted at the time of sampling.
As per program policy, a quarantine has been placed on the infected horse and its on premises contact animals. The quarantine will remain until all disease response activities have been completed, including follow-up testing and ordering the destruction of positive cases. Trace-out activities may require the CFIA to undertake actions at additional premises as outlined in the current policy.
Please see the CFIA website for a map of cases. More details may be found on the CAHSS website.