Canadian cow tests positive for BSE

A Canadian agency has reported that another case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy has been found, this time in a 72-month-old cow. It is the 18th such case in Canada, according to the United Stockgrowers of America’s Ranchers-Cattlemen Action Legal Fund. An official with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency told Shae Dodson, R-CALF USA communications coordinator, that another case of the disease, commonly known as mad cow disease, was confirmed Feb. 25. The U.S. Department of Agriculture later verified the Canadian report, according to a news release from R-CALF USA. The group said Canadian officials had not notified the World Organization for Animal Health about the case as of last Wednesday. “The CFIA said the BSE-positive case was confirmed Feb. 25, 2010, which means the CFIA and all other governments who knew about this latest BSE case kept it a secret from the public for almost two weeks,” said Bill Bullard, R-CALF USA chief executive officer. “If we had not discovered this information, the public may never have known.” The 6-year-old infected animal would have been born in 2003 or 2004, making it the 18th Canadian-born case and the 11th animal diagnosed with the disease eligible to be exported to the United States...read more