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Canada Reports New Mad Cow Case

U.S. lifted restrictions on Canadian beef just weeks ago

December 20, 2007 

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The threat of Mad Cow disease has reared its ugly head again in Canada. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency has confirmed a new case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), the eleventh since the disease first made its way to Canada.

BSE is a slowly progressive, degenerative, fatal disease affecting the central nervous system of adult cattle. Since 1990, the U.S. Department of Agriculture has conducted surveillance of the highest-risk cattle going to slaughter in the United States.

The agency said the latest Canadian cow, born before new feed regulations had been implemented as a safeguard against BSE, was discovered in Alberta and had not entered the food supply.

The news comes more than a month after the U.S. Government lifted its beef and import restrictions on Canadian cows. The ban had been in place since 2003.

The news is likely to produce new cries of alarm from U.S. cattle producers, who were not pleased with the recent lifting of the ban on Canadian imports. Canadian authorities, meanwhile, say the country has BSE control measures that are not only adequate, but which far exceed those recommended by international standards.

In Washington, USDA says the latest Canadian case does not change the U.S. policy on lifting the import ban. Officials say the risk has already been factored in to Canada’s risk status.

A BSE-infected cow was discovered in the United States in 2003, and another in 2005.

More about mad cow disease ...

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