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Contagious Bovine Pleuropneumonia

What is contagious bovine pleuropneumonia?

Contagious bovine pleuropneumonia (CBPP) is an infectious and highly contagious bacterial disease in cattle and water buffalo. It affects the lungs, causing respiratory distress, and can occasionally affect the joints. Various species are susceptible to the disease. CBPP has been reported in Asian yaks and in American bison. Sheep, wild bovids, camels, antelope, and goats are resistant to CBPP.

Does Canada have this disease?

CBPP is not present in Canada. CBPP was a major livestock disease worldwide throughout the nineteenth century. Today, the disease has been eradicated from most countries but remains widespread in Africa and is present in some countries in Asia and Europe. CBPP has not been present in the United States or Canada since the late 1800s when a strict eradication program was put in place.

Is there a human health risk associated with CBPP?

No. The bacteria that causes CBPP does not affect humans.

How is CBPP transmitted and spread?

The disease is introduced into a herd by contact with an infected animal. It is transmitted by coughing, saliva, urine, and other secretions. The bacteria can become airborne and is highly contagious. Cattle that are persistently infected but show no apparent clinical signs can be a major source of infection.

What are the clinical signs of this disease?

Not all animals are affected in the same way. Various forms of CBPP include:

• Hyperacute form: Death is sudden and no other clinical signs are apparent.
• Acute form: Fever and depression are followed by severe respiratory distress, including laboured and painful breathing, ‘grunting’ when exhaling, coughing, standing with the head and neck extended, dilation of the nostrils, panting, nasal discharge, and frothy saliva at the mouth.
• Subacute form: Occurs most frequently, in about 40-50 per cent of affected animals. Symptoms are similar to, but less severe than, the acute form. Fever is intermittent.
• Chronic form: The disease may develop in animals that survive the acute stages. Chronically infected cattle no longer show respiratory signs of the disease but have an intermittent fever, loss of appetite, and weight loss.

Calves affected by CBPP are more likely to become lame from swollen, painful limb joints and may not show signs of respiratory illness.

How is CBPP diagnosed?

CBPP is diagnosed based on clinical signs, post-mortem examination, and laboratory tests, including blood samples tested for specific antibodies to the bacteria.

Are there any treatments for CBPP?

There is no efficient treatment for CBPP. Guidelines under the OIE International Animal Health Code recommend the culling of animals diagnosed with CBPP in order to eradicate the disease. Vaccination against CBPP is widely used in Africa to control and prevent the disease.

What is the Canadian Food Inspection Agency’s (CFIA) role in preventing this disease from entering Canada?

Contagious bovine pleuropneumonia is a reportable disease under the Health of Animals Act. This means that all suspected cases must be reported to the CFIA. All reported suspect cases are immediately investigated by inspectors from the agency. The CFIA imposes strict regulations on the import of animals and animal products from countries where CBPP is known to occur. These regulations are enforced through CFIA port-of-entry inspections.

Canada’s emergency response strategy in the event of an outbreak of a foreign animal disease is to eradicate the disease and re-establish the country’s disease-free status as quickly as possible. In an effort to eradicate CBPP, the CFIA would employ its "stamping out" policy, which would include:

• the humane destruction of all infected and exposed animals;
• surveillance and tracing of potentially infected or exposed animals;
• strict quarantine and animal movement controls;
• strict decontamination of infected premises;
• zoning to define infected and disease-free areas.

How to get more information?

Contact your Canadian Food Inspection Agency Area Office:

You can find your local Canadian Food Inspection Agency District Office on the CFIA Web site or by consulting the blue pages of your local phone directory.

September 2003
P0308E-03