MAD COW DISEASE

Animal From Canada Mad Cow Herd May Have Reached U.S. The Canadian government said that an animal raised with an 8-year-old cow that had mad cow disease may have been sent to the U.S. An initial investigation suggests one cow from the infected cow's birth ``cohort'' of 141 animals may have gone to the U.S., Gary Little, senior veterinarian with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, told reporters in a conference call from Ottawa. There may be others, he said, while declining to be more specific. ``It is too early to speculate on how many animals and their BSE-status,'' Little said, referring to bovine spongiform encephalopathy, the scientific name for the disease. Little said nine dairy cows from the birth cohort -- animals born on the same farm and within a year of the infected animal -- have been located and will be slaughtered and tested for BSE. Some U.S. lawmakers and a ranchers group have cited Canada's second case of mad cow disease, confirmed Jan. 2, as a reason to scuttle plans to ease a 19-month-old import ban on Canadian cattle. Tyson Foods Inc. and National Beef Packing Co. said they will cut beef production in the U.S. partly because of tight animal supplies. Beef from some of the animals being traced may have gotten into the human food chain, Little said. Those animals ``represent a very low risk,'' he said, as ``multiple cases in the same birth cohort is rare.'' ``What we can't say is that's a zero risk,'' he said. ``That doesn't exist.''....
Government tries to find cow related to infected animal Government officials were trying Friday to trace a cow shipped to the United States from the same Canadian herd as an animal infected with mad cow disease, yet officials said it was unlikely the imported cow had been infected. In Canada, investigators identified 93 dairy and 48 beef animals that were born in the year before through the year after the infected cow was delivered in October 1996. Investigators are trying to trace all 141 animals, including the one shipped to the United States. "USDA believes it is extremely unlikely that this imported cow would have been infected," said Ron DeHaven, administrator for the agency's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service. Nonetheless, DeHaven said, the department is making "every reasonable effort to obtain and provide information about the disposition of this animal as well as any other birth cohorts that are traced to the United States through Canada's epidemiological investigation."....
Ottawa downplays mad cow health worries Information about the infected cow gathered so far includes:---she gave birth to two offspring, both of which have since died of causes unrelated to BSE,---her birth herd of 93 cattle comprised 55 bull calves that would have been slaughtered very young. Of the remaining 38 animals, one tested negative for BSE late last year, and another nine have been located and placed under quarantine,---another 48 beef cattle that were born on her farm of origin between 1995 and 1997 are also being sought. Some of the animals have likely died, been slaughtered or even exported to the United States, officials added....
Statement By Dr. Ron DeHaven Administrator, Animal & Plant Health Inspection Service "The U.S. Department of Agriculture is working closely with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency in their investigation of the Canadian dairy cow that recently tested positive for BSE. This investigation is focused on identifying birth cohorts - animals born in the same herd within one year of the affected animal. The preliminary investigation has shown that one of these birth cohorts was imported into the United States in February 2002 for immediate slaughter. USDA, in collaboration with FDA, is currently tracing the disposition of this animal and will provide further details as the investigation evolves. "Even at the height of BSE infection in Europe and the United Kingdom, it was extremely rare to have more than one animal in the same herd affected with BSE, therefore USDA believes it is extremely unlikely that this imported cow would have been infected."....