January 3, 2005

 

 

Canada Confirms Second Mad Cow Case

 

An Alberta dairy cow has been confirmed to have mad cow disease, according to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency.

 

The cow is the second animal infected with Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) in Canada since May 2003.

 

In the previous case, a cow on a northwest Alberta ranch suffered from BSE, leading to a crisis for Canadian beef producers as the United States and other customers banned the beef or live cattle imports from this country.

 

The federal agency said on Sunday that the animal in question had not entered the human or animal food chain, and there was no increased risk to the public.

 

Certain parts of cattle such as the brain and spinal cord are known as specified risk material (SRM).

 

"Canada requires the removal of specified risk material (SRM) from all animals entering the human food supply... This measure is internationally recognized as the most effective means to protect public health from BSE."

 

Despite the finding, the United States has said it still plans to open its border to live cattle by March.

 

"We don't anticipate it would have any impact," said US Department of Agriculture spokeswoman Alisa Harrison after news broke about the new suspected case.

 

According to the USDA, Canada is considered a minimal risk region and that additional BSE cases were anticipated when the issue of resuming live cattle trade was considered.

 

The US currently accepts boneless cuts of beef from young Canadian cattle.

 

The CFIA said the new positive case involves an eight-year-old cow that was a 'downer,' meaning it was unable to walk.

 

It noted the animal was found using the national surveillance system, which tested 22,000 cattle in 2004.

 

The infected cow's original farm has been found. The investigation will shift to finding cattle of similar age from that farm and any offspring from the infected cow.

 

"The Agency has also launched a feed investigation to examine what the infected animal was fed early in its life, when infection was most likely to have occurred prior to the 1997 feed ban," it said.

 

Older cattle could have eaten contaminated feed. Canada and the US established rules in 1997 prohibiting the feeding of animal protein to cattle and other ruminant animals to prevent the spread of BSE.

 

That was identified as a transmission mechanism during a mid-1990s BSE outbreak in the United Kingdom.

 

The 19-month BSE crisis has taken an economic toll on Canadian beef producers. They estimate their industry has lost more than $4 billion and 4,200 jobs since it began.