OTTAWA (AFP) — The Canadian Food Inspection Agency said Tuesday it has confirmed mad cow disease or bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) in a 13-year-old beef cow from western Alberta province.
No part of the carcass entered the human food or animal feed systems, and the case will not affect Canada's risk status, which is determined by World Organization for Animal Health, the government agency added.
This year, the UN body categorized Canada as a "controlled risk country" for BSE, acknowledging its efforts to monitor, mitigate risks and eventually eradicate BSE from the national cattle herd.
Even so, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) said it expects to find a small number of BSE cases over the next 10 years.
The Alberta animal is the 11th case identified in this country since 2003.
It was born before Canada implemented a feed ban in July 1997, prohibiting cattle-derived materials linked to BSE such as the brain and spinal cord from being used in all animal feeds, pet foods and fertilizers, the CFIA noted.
An epidemiological investigation is underway to identify the animal's herdmates at the time of birth and how it might have become infected.
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