The Canadian Food Inspection Agency is reporting Manitoba's first case of anthrax infection for 2011.

A case was confirmed yesterday (Monday) in a cattle herd on a farm in the RM of Whitehead, southwest of Brandon.

The spores that cause the disease are known to exist in the soil across the prairies.

In 2006, more than 148 animals in Manitoba died from the disease. The number of anthrax cases has been low in recent years. There was only one confirmed herd infection in 2010, and four infected herds found in Manitoba in 2009.