November 17, 2004

 

 

Canada's Mad Cow Testing May Reveal New Cases
 

Canadian veterinary officials said they might discover a small number of mad cow cases after boosting test rates among old and sick cattle, but they will not be surprised.

 

Canada has tested more than 10,000 cattle for the brain-wasting disease in 2004. The figure is almost double the levels last year and more than triple of what it tested before detecting its first homegrown case of the disease in May 2003. All other tests have been negative.

 

But at a briefing on preventive measures on Tuesday, officials reiterated that more cases of bovine spongiform encephalopathy, or BSE could arise after test levels are increased to 30,000 in 2005.

 

"When you have one indigenous case of BSE, it's possible that even if you have a very, very low prevalence of BSE in the national herd, other cases may come out," according to Frederique Moulin, a senior veterinarian with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency.

 

Canada's surveillance system is designed to detect one infected animal out of one million healthy ones, Moulin said.

 

Due to bans in foreign markets, the export-dependent cattle industry is estimated to have lost up to C$5 billion ($4.2 billion) since 2003.

 

Officials have said the extra testing is needed to prove to export buyers that Canada has a low prevalence of the disease.

 

The disease is believed to have arrived in Canada in an animal imported from Britain before that country's BSE crisis, when Canada shut its borders to British cattle imports.

 

In 1997, Canada and the United States banned the practice of adding protein made from rendered cattle into cattle feed -- a practice thought to spread the disease.

 

Small numbers of cattle born before the feed ban are still in domestic herds, Moulin said.

 

After finding its first case, Canada banned brains, spines and other materials that can spread the disease from the human food supply.

 

($1=$1.19 Canadian)