21 farms under quarantine after anthrax kills cattle

Officials with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency have quarantined 21 Saskatchewan farms after an outbreak of anthrax near Melfort.

The agency says it has confirmed the disease killed cattle on two farms in the area and it is investigating as many as 65 suspicious cattle deaths.

Cattle and other livestock can become infected when they ingest the spores while feeding. It's believed spring flooding in the northeast exposed the bacteria that causes the disease.

CFIA spokesman Greg Douglasis advising farmers to report unexpected or surprising deaths to local veterinarians.

"Then they need to take steps to not touch or handle those carcasses," he said.

Since the outbreak was discovered last week, thousands of cattle have been vaccinated.

That will help herds in the region build up an immunity and should help contain the disease, he said. "I would expect by tomorrow or the next day our mortality should begin to decrease," he said.

The CFIA will hold an information meeting for farmers in Melfort Thursday.

Meanwhile, officials are busy tracking cattle from the affected farms to make sure none of the animals made it into the human food chain.