Possible anthrax outbreak in Wood Buffalo
Paul Bickford
Northern News Services
Monday, July 13, 2015
THEBACHA/FORT SMITH
A possible outbreak of anthrax has been detected in Wood Buffalo National Park.
According to a July 10 news release from Parks Canada, a routine patrol flight over the park on July 9 discovered 34 bison carcasses, some of which gave the appearance of having died from anthrax.
All carcasses were in the Alberta section of the park - Trident Meadows, about 35 km north of Garden River; Lake One in the central area of the park; Sweetgrass Prairie; and one deceased animal on the Salt Plains, about 15 km from the Salt Plains Lookout.
"All of the bison that we have found so far are in remote areas," said Mike Keizer, the park's external relations manager, who added the carcasses were not near any visitor facilities.
"And the park is still open," Keizer said on July 10.
Samples were collected to be sent to a laboratory in the south for testing to determine whether or not anthrax is present.
Keizer estimated that if everything goes smoothly, the results should be known in five to seven days from July 10.
Parks Canada has implemented its response plan, which focuses on visitor safety and minimizing the spread of the possible outbreak. Routine aerial surveillance flights were increased to detect any other deceased animals.
Anthrax control measures near high-use areas, such as roads, involve the rapid detection and disposal of dead bison to minimize the release of anthrax spores into the soil. In areas where there is little or no likelihood of people coming into contact with the disease, the animals are left to decompose naturally.
Anthrax outbreaks - a natural phenomenon - have been observed 13 times in the park and the NWT between 1962 and 2012. There has never been a case of visitors contracting anthrax in the park.
Keizer advised that, if people should see a dead bison or even detect a strong smell, they should immediately leave the area and report the finding to the park office.
People should not touch any dead animal.
The current bison population of the park stands at about 5,000 animals.
