BSE CONFIRMED IN ALBERTA August 23, 2006

[flounder]

Latest Information (as of August 23, 2006 - 12:00 EST)
Bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) was today confirmed by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) in a mature beef cow from Alberta. No part of the animal's carcass entered the human food or animal feed systems.
Preliminary information provided by the owner and an examination conducted by a private veterinarian estimate the animal's age was between eight and ten years of age. Based on this range, exposure to the BSE agent likely occurred either before the feed ban's introduction or during its early implementation.
A CFIA investigation is underway to locate the positive animal's birth farm.
As has been done previously, the CFIA will conduct a complete epidemiological review of this case, the results of which will be made public.


http://www.inspection.gc.ca/english/ani ... ione.shtml




BSE CONFIRMED IN ALBERTA
OTTAWA, August 23, 2006 - Bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) was today confirmed by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) in a mature beef cow from Alberta. No part of the animal's carcass entered the human food or animal feed systems.

Preliminary information provided by the owner and an examination conducted by a private veterinarian estimate the animal's age was between eight and ten years of age. Based on this range, exposure to the BSE agent likely occurred either before the feed ban's introduction or during its early implementation. The estimated age of this animal is consistent with those of previous Canadian cases and exposure to a very low level of BSE infectivity.

A CFIA investigation is underway to locate the positive animal's birth farm. This information, if determined, will serve to definitively verify the animal's age as well as help identify herdmates of interest and potential sources of contaminated feed. As has been done previously, the CFIA will conduct a complete epidemiological review of this case, the results of which will be made public.

The national BSE surveillance program continues to demonstrate its capacity to effectively detect periodic BSE cases as Canada progresses toward the eradication of the disease. All cases confirmed in Canada have been identified through the program, which, since 2003, has tested more than 117,500 cattle from the highest risk populations.

-30-

For information:

CFIA Media relations: (613) 228-6682



http://www.inspection.gc.ca/english/cor ... 823e.shtml



TSS


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Subject: CFIA Testing Inconclusive Potential Canadian BSE Sample
Date: August 22, 2006 at 8:00 pm PST
8/22/2006 6:28:00 PM


CFIA Testing Inconclusive Potential Canadian BSE Sample


WINNIPEG (Dow Jones)--The Canadian Food Inspection Agency is currently running tests on an inconclusive sample from a mature Canadian animal, that may or may not prove to be the country's latest case of Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy or mad cow disease, a CFIA spokesman confirmed late Tuesday.


CFIA media relations officer Alain Charette confirmed that a sample coming from a mature animal had been tested in a provincial lab. The provincial tests came back inconclusive for BSE, so the sample has been sent on to the CFIA for further testing, he said.


The testing is ongoing, and Charette said the CFIA will make an announcement once the final results are known. The length of time to conduct the test will depend on the quality of the sample, and could take anywhere from 48 hours to many days, he said.


Charette couldn't provide any further details regarding the animal in question or the province it came from.


Source: Phil Franz-Warkentin, Dow Jones Newswires; 204-947-1700; [email protected]



http://www.cattlenetwork.com/content.as ... ntid=62490



http://today.reuters.com/news/articlene ... althNews-3




Canada CFIA has been pretty good about quick results back from BSE tests. I would hope just because the USDA et al in the USA has stopped looking to document BSE in the USA (in fact, just the opposite), furthermore i would be glad to document this for anyone that would be willing to contradict my statement [email protected]. But i would hope that this result would not take days or weeks, or almost a year as with the USDA et al (7+ months) and finally an act of congress, to finally confirm that Texas mad cow, then another year to finally admit it was indeed an atypical BSE, 3 years to finally have all the data on that ONE Mad cow in TEXAS. I suppose i can be thankful that they did not just render this mad cow in Texas as they have before without any test at all. Imagine how many decades it will take to find out about all the rest of the mad cows in the USA.

WE can all hope that this latest suspect mad cow in Canada is a false positive/inconclusive. ...


TSS

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[Oldtimer]

August 23, 2006 Phone: 406-672-8969; e-mail: [email protected]



BSE Confirmed in Alberta Beef Cow



(Billings, Mont.) – Today the Canadian government confirmed bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) in another Alberta beef cow, making this the ninth BSE-positive animal of Canadian origin.



"R-CALF has been saying all along that it appears the prevalence of BSE in Canada is a lot higher than anybody anticipated," said R-CALF USA President and Region V Director Chuck Kiker. "This raises a tremendous amount of concern, especially in light of the fact that it does not appear Canada's meat and bone meal ban, or feed ban, was effective.



"With numerous cases of BSE in older Canadian cows, and the four cases in animals born after Canada's 1997 feed ban, Canada could continue to discover BSE cases for years to come," he added.



R-CALF USA CEO Bill Bullard said, "It is now obvious that Canada is experiencing its third, or perhaps fourth, generation of BSE infectivity in its feed system, which began back in 1993 when Canada detected its first BSE case in an animal imported from Great Britain.



"It is quite obvious that there is a hot spot for this disease in Alberta, and because most of the cattle and beef exports from Canada to the U.S. originate in Alberta, this development should cause USDA to immediately strengthen our import controls on Canadian cattle and beef," Bullard emphasized.



In mid-July, R-CALF USA sent letters to Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns and Congress urging USDA to take additional steps to ensure the BSE problem in Canada does not adversely affect exports of U.S. beef.



"One of those requests urged USDA to withdraw its proposed rule on importing Canadian cattle over 30 months (OTM) of age into the U.S., as well as beef products from those older Canadian animals," Bullard continued. "We're pleased that USDA did go ahead and withdraw the OTM proposal, but there are still steps the agency should take to return the U.S. to our original import standards, which previously were the highest in the world."



R-CALF USA also requested that USDA take the following action:



Rescind its Minimal Risk Region Rule that presently allows the importation of cattle and beef from cattle under 30 months of age from Canada until a comprehensive analysis is completed on Canada's latest detection of a 4 year, 2 month old cow with BSE;
End its practice of granting access to the U.S. market before the United States fully regains all of its lost export markets; and,
Ensure that beef produced exclusively from U.S. cattle be clearly labeled with a Country-of-Origin Label (COOL) for consumers, both domestic and abroad.


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R-CALF USA (Ranchers-Cattlemen Action Legal Fund, United Stockgrowers of America) is a national, non-profit organization and is dedicated to ensuring the continued profitability and viability of the U.S. cattle industry. R-CALF USA represents thousands of U.S. cattle producers on both domestic and international trade and marketing issues. Members are located across 47 states and are primarily cow/calf operators, cattle backgrounders, and/or feedlot owners. R-CALF USA has more than 60 affiliate organizations and various main-street businesses are associate members. For more information, visit http://www.r-calfusa.com or, call 406-252-2516.