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OTTAWA — The discovery of another case of mad cow disease in B.C. will have no impact on Canada's already hard-hit beef industry, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency says.
The agency announced Monday that another cow has been identified as having bovine spongiform encephalopathy, or BSE.
“This should have no impact as far as trade, or significant impact directly within Canada,” said George Luterbach, a veterinarian with the agency.
It's the third case in B.C. in the last three years and the thirteenth in Canada since the first case of mad cow came to light in 2003.
But Mr. Luterbach said Canada has been assessed by the World Organization for Animal Health and given a controlled-risk status, indicating it has the proper checks and balances to control the disease.
“As part of our risk assessment, it was recognized that as Canada moves to the eradication of BSE … there would likely be a small number cases that will be detected along the way, and this is well understood by our trading partners,” he said in an interview Monday.
Mr. Luterbach said over 220,000 cattle in Canada have been tested for BSE since the country's first case saw the U.S. and other international borders closed to Canadian beef in 2003.
“Those cattle have been selected to be the highest potential risk animals for BSE,” he said.
“We've very confident that BSE is not common nor widespread in Canada because of our surveillance.”
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency hasn't said where the infected cow is located but an investigation is under way to determine where the cow was born.
The inspection agency said a ban on using animal materials in feed products has virtually eliminated the spread of BSE in Canada, but it said a small number of mad cow cases are still expected to surface.
In 2006 and 2007 the disease was found in two B.C. dairy cows, and in both cases the agency said the infection was caused by contaminated feed.
It also said there was no risk to public health because no part of the animal entered the human food systems.
