WEYBURN, Saskatchewan, Aug. 10 (UPI) -- Anthrax has killed 30 bison on a farm near Weyburn, Saskatchewan, a Canadian provincial official said Tuesday.
The deaths amounted to a third of the farm's bison herd, the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. reported.
Livestock producers were being warned to consider vaccinating their herds against the disease, which, while rarely dangerous for humans, can be deadly for animals.
Greg Douglas, chief veterinary officer with the Agriculture Ministry, said the onset of the disease results in "sudden-death loss."
"The animals are absolutely normal-looking and 2 hours later they're dead," he said. "They don't give any warning, it's not a situation where an animal will be off feed or just won't be right for a while. They are fine one moment and they are dead the next."
Douglas said conditions are ideal for anthrax spores to proliferate following widespread flooding in May and June.
"As the animals start to chew off the grass in … low-lying areas that could have been flooded, they're going to be exposed to anthrax spores," he said. "If they have no immunity then we could end up with more anthrax cases through August and September."
Anthrax claimed more than 800 cattle and bison in Saskatchewan in 2006, the CBC said.
