In May 2003, Dr. Stephanie Czub was looking through a microscope at the National Centre for Foreign Animal Disease at the CFIA in Winnipeg. What she saw turned into what she calls “a career- and life-changing experience for me and for the farmers.” Czub was looking at the slide that confirmed Canada’s first case of BSE in an Alberta cow.
Czub, a doctor of veterinary medicine, now heads the prion, pathology, virology and wildlife disease units at the CFIA lab in Lethbridge. She recently spoke at Innovation Impact, a yearly event which showcases Alberta Innovates Bio Solutions projects. She also spoke at the Alberta Prion Institute’s commemoration of the 10-year anniversary of the discovery of BSE in Alberta, and has received a Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Award for her work in BSE.
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Czub said there has been a significant decrease in the number of cases of BSE over the last 10 years, with no new cases found in Alberta in 2012. However, she said the future isn’t completely rosy. Scientists have discovered a new form of BSE called “atypical BSE.” The disease behaves slightly differently from classical BSE.
Scientists still don’t know how atypical BSE originates and are not sure if atypical BSE is related to feeding contaminated feed. Atypical BSE cases have been found around the world, including Canada, the United States, France, Poland, Sweden and Japan.
Czub and her research team at Lethbridge infected cattle with atypical BSE. The animals were monitored in a standardized and consistent way and were moved from pens, into barns and chutes. “What we do is monitor their reaction to touch, mainly in the face and on the neck, which are the most sensitive areas in classical BSE,” said Czub. Researchers also monitor the animals’ reactions to light and sounds. Atypical BSE is transmissible to cattle and infects more quickly than classical BSE. “It takes only 11 to 12 months as opposed to 16 to 18 months,” she said.
Czub said atypical BSE grows slowly, but continually. Classical BSE, linked to contaminated feedstock, grows slowly but intermittently. When an animal develops classical BSE, their movements seem stiff and affected and they often become downer animals. Classical BSE is also harder to identify, because animals fluctuate between appearing very stressed out and normal.
Czub said scientists have broken atypical BSE into two types; L-type and H-type. Animals display different symptoms in all three types of BSE. Animals with H-type atypical BSE are extremely anxious. L-type animals appear very sleepy, fall down quickly and cannot rise by themselves.
