Canada Hogs Test Negative for FMD
CANADA - The Canadian Food Inspection Agency has temporarily closed the Olymel hog plant in Red Deer, Alberta, after it received a suspicious load of hogs, but initial tests have ruled out foot-and-mouth disease, according to a Reuters report.
24 June 2010
1 minute read
Final analysis of the initial negative results will be available after further analysis at the federal laboratory in Winnipeg, said CFIA spokesman Guy Gravelle. The initial tests were negative for any reportable animal disease, including foot-and-mouth, he said.
"Preliminary results can often be turned around based on the final analysis but at this stage everything looks like it's not FMD or anything of that sort," Mr Gravelle said.
The government continued to test the roughly 200 hogs in the original load, said Mr Gravelle, adding that it's likely not all have been tested yet.
He could not say what type of testing CFIA was conducting.
The hogs had lesions when they arrived at the plant that raised suspicion because Canadian veterinarians aren't familiar with foot-and-mouth, said Jurgen Preugschas, president of the Canadian Pork Council.
