BC cow tests positive for mad cow disease
By Kathy Jones
Apr 17, 2006, 14:13
Federal officials in Canada have confirmed Sunday that the 6-year-old dairy cow in Canada did die from the dreaded mad cow disease. This is now Canada's fifth case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy, or BSE since May 2003, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency said.
George Luterbach, a senior veterinarian for the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) announced the positive diagnosis on CTV News. "Our investigation has taken us back to the farm, which is known to be the birth farm of this cow, and we're in the process of assembling, through farm records, those herd mates that were of similar age and likely consumed the same feed," he said, adding that all these animals would be destroyed.
It was again stressed that no part of the infected animal had entered human or animal feed systems. The cow, a Holstein, was identified as a suspected case by Canada's BSE surveillance program last week, but initial tests had proved inconclusive and hence brain samples were sent to the National Centre for Foreign Animal Diseases in Winnipeg for final tests. The results were returned yesterday.
These positive results are a nightmare for the Canadian beef industry, which has barely recovered from a ban imposed on the exports of its products by the United States about two years ago. That move had cost the beef and dairy industry about $7 billion.
This time around the US has issued a measured response with Mike Johanns, secretary of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, stressing that Canada's surveillance system worked and that there was no concern about contaminated cross-border shipments.
"Information gathered through this investigation will help us to determine what, if any, impact this should have on our beef and live cattle trade with Canada," Johanns said. "Based on the information currently available, I do not anticipate a change in the status of our trade."
Canada has invited the US to participate in the follow-up investigation and Mr Johanns said that a health official would be sent to British Columbia.
Mr Luterbach told the Toronto Star that this muted response has come about due to the slow change in international attitudes towards mad cow disease. "I think there is a better understanding that (mad cow disease) is controlled by a suite of measures. It's not just one factor," he said.
He also added that the Japanese response to the new case was a welcome change. Last month, Japanese inspectors had declared themselves satisfied with the conditions in all eight Canadian beef processing plants. Japan had also imposed a ban on Canadian beef soon after the detection of a mad cow in May 2003.
That particular ban was lifted in December last year although US beef was banned after the discovery of prohibited bone parts in a shipment of U.S. veal. However, Japan has been dealing with domestic mad cow cases and has had three confirmed cases this year.
Mad cow disease or BSE is a progressive neurological disorder of cattle that many believe is caused by an agent known as prion. It is not properly understood how this prion transmits itself among cattle. The disease is characterized disorientation in the affected animals, clumsiness and aggressive behavior towards humans and other animals. BSE is a fatal disease for which there is no cure.
Eating tainted beef can cause a human form of mad cow disease characterized by psychiatric/behavioral symptoms; painful dyesthesiasis and delayed neurological signs. The median age of death from the disease is 28 years and death usually occurs within a year of contacting the infection.
In the US, two cows have tested positive for mad cow disease, the first found in the state of Washington was imported from Alberta, Canada, and the second one was found in a rancher in Texas, US. How the second cow got the disease remains unknown.
For more information on BSE, visit, http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvrd/bse/
