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Canada Finds Suspected Case of Mad Cow

December 30, 2004 12:58:00 PM ET

By Jeffrey Jones

CALGARY, Alberta (Reuters) - Canada may have found a new case of mad cow disease, officials said on Thursday, rekindling tensions in its hard-hit beef industry just one day after the United States announced plans to reopen the border to live Canadian cattle.

A 10-year-old dairy cow from Alberta tested positive in two preliminary examinations, but the case -- which comes 20 months after Canada's first mad cow discovery -- has yet to be confirmed by a full-scale test, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency said.

The animal did not enter the human food or animal-feed supply, officials stressed.

``We've taken this particular sample and elevated the sample to a suspect case, based on the fact that we have multiple, consistent non-negative findings,'' Gary Little, senior veterinarian with the CFIA, told reporters in Ottawa .

Definitive ``gold standard'' test results are expected in two to four days, Little said. The agency has started tracing the animal's offspring as a precaution, he said.

Canada 's beef industry has already lost an estimated C$5 billion ($4.1 billion) since the first home-grown case of the disease, in May 2003, prompted international bans on its cattle and meat, led by the United States , its biggest market.

But spirits in Canada 's cattle country were lifted on Wednesday when the U.S. Department of Agriculture said it planned to reopen the border on March 7 to imports of Canadian cattle under 30 months of age.

Ottawa notified the USDA about its suspected new case before Wednesday's announcement, officials with both agencies told Reuters.

The dairy cow was born before both countries banned animal protein in cattle feed, which scientists say causes the brain-wasting affliction, and U.S. and Canadian officials said they did not expect it to affect trade.

If confirmed, it would be the only case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy, or mad cow disease, found in Canada this year despite more than 21,500 tests.

An animal found in Washington state with the affliction one year ago was traced back to Alberta , however. It was also born before the feed restrictions.

Last month, the United States announced a suspected case but it turned out to be a false alarm.

Humans can contract a version of BSE, called variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, by eating contaminated beef.

Canadian industry players were hopeful the case, if confirmed, would not further complicate an already touchy process for resuming exports, but were wary it might provide ammunition to U.S. anti-trade groups.

``It will certainly give opponents in the U.S. something to chew on,'' said Harvey Dann, a Manitoba exporter who has been selling hamburger in mall parking lots during the trade ban.

A U.S. cattle group called R-CALF has consistently fought against reopening the border, arguing it could threaten the health of the U.S. herd. In recent weeks, R-CALF has raised the possibility of a legal challenge.

But the National Cattlemen's Beef Association, which represents U.S. ranchers, said it still supports resuming live cattle imports from Canada .

``The finding of an additional case is not going to have any bearing on our position whether or not to open the border because the rule covers cattle under 30 months of age and it covers beef products that are deemed safe by various criteria,'' association spokeswoman Karen Batra said.

($1-$1.20 Canadian) (With additional reporting by David Ljunggren and Randall Palmer in Ottawa , Roberta Rampton in Winnipeg and Richard Cowan in Washington )