OTTAWA, Ontario – The premises under quarantine on concerns of bovine tuberculosis (TB) contamination recently dropped to 45, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) reported. Movement controls were removed at six premises considered to be low-risk following appropriate testing.

CFIA said most of the premises that remain under quarantine are in the province of Alberta. No more than five quarantined premises are in Saskatchewan.

“While the number of quarantines has decreased slightly at this point, as the investigation continues, we will identify additional premises that will need to be subject to quarantine and movement controls,” CFIA said in a statement. “The total number of animals quarantined by this investigation remains at approximately 26,000, including infected premises.”

On-farm testing has been scheduled for all farms remaining under quarantine, the agency said, and all on-farm testing for test-eligible animals currently under quarantine are expected to be completed by early January.

“The last round of reactor animals that were humanely slaughtered showed no lesions or other clinical signs of the disease,” the agency said. “This is encouraging but is not confirmation that the animal does not have bovine TB. Confirmation that an animal does not have TB can only be provided by confirmed negative results of a culture test.

“Compensation teams continue to meet with producers to ensure they have all the information required to expedite their claims.”