A six-year-old beef cow from Alberta has been identified as Canada’s 14th case of BSE.
The animal was born and raised on the same farm in the “general area of Edmonton,” said George Luterbach, senior veterinarian with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency.
The agency’s investigation will concentrate on finding animals born within one year of the birth of the cow.
Cattle are believed to be most susceptible to BSE in the first year of their lives. Officials will focus on trying to find animals that may have had access to the same feed as the infected animal.
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No part of the animal entered the food or feed system.
Luterbach said the animal was unthrifty and became a downer. It was euthanized by a local veterinarian and samples sent to the provincial laboratory for BSE testing.
If an animal tests “non-negative” at the provincial laboratory, samples are sent to the federal laboratory in Lethbridge for confirmation. The positive test was confirmed Aug.15.
The discovery of a 14th animal to test positive for BSE means Canada continues to have a low level of the disease, consistent with other findings, he said.
More than 230,000 cattle have been tested for BSE as part of the national surveillance program.
