13th case of mad cow disease found in western B.C.

Canwest News Service

Tuesday, June 24, 2008

OTTAWA -- The Canadian Food Inspection Agency has confirmed the 13th case of mad cow disease in Canada, but the agency says the case poses no risk to human or animal health.

Dr. George Luterbach, a senior veterinarian with CFIA, said Monday the disease was found in a cow that died on a farm in western British Columbia. However, the exact farm where the animal was from has not been determined.

"At this point in time we're in the early stages of the investigation," said Luterbach. "We have no other suspect animals."

He said that to date, CFIA has not found more than one case on an individual farm.

"The birth farm is often not the farm in which the animal was found to have died," he added.

By late Monday the agency still did not know what farm the infected cow was from.

The agency said the animal was detected as part of its ongoing surveillance program for mad cow disease -- or bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE). It said no part of the animal entered the human or animal food chain. CFIA did not give the age of the animal in the latest case.

Luterbach said the birth farm needs to be located in order to focus in on animals born during the same time period and that have consumed the same feed.

He said until the birth farm is located, CFIA cannot determine if or how many other animals have been affected.

© Alberni Valley Times 2008

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