The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) confirmed on
Wednesday a new case of mad cow disease in the Prairie province
Alberta.
It is Canada's fifth case in 2006 and eighth case since 2003,
when the disease was first found in this country, officials
said.??
?
The disease, also known as bovine spongiform encephalopathy, or
BSE, is thought to be spread mainly in contaminated feed. It
attacks victims through hard-to-destroy protein forms called
prions, which can multiply in the brain, reducing it to a spongy
wreck.
The risk of transmission to humans who consume meat from
infected animals remains unclear.
Information from the dead cow's owner and a private veterinarian
suggests the animal was between eight and 10 years old, the CFIA
said in a statement.
No part of its carcass entered the human food or animal feed
systems, the agency said.
A CFIA investigation is underway to locate the cow's birth farm,
verify the animal's age, and identify other cows from the herd and
possible sources of contaminated feed.
(Xinhua News Agency August 24, 2006)
