Eight more Canadian-born dairy cows being traced in U.S. mad cow probe
WASHINGTON, Dec 29, 2003 (The Canadian Press via COMTEX) -- U.S. officials are tracing another eight imported dairy cattle from Canada, saying Monday they now believe a Holstein with mad cow disease was born four months before the start of safety restrictions on cattle feed.
American officials say the diseased cow probably came from an Alberta farm to Washington state with 73 others in 2001. Another shipment of eight cows from the same herd followed later.
The age of the cow was one discrepancy between U.S. and Canadian records that raised questions about whether the Holstein actually came from Canada.
But Dr. Ron DeHaven, chief veterinarian with the U.S. Agriculture Department, said he talked Sunday with the Washington state herd owner who found original documents on the animal.
They indicate the animal was born in April 1997, agreeing with Canadian information, said DeHaven, who emphasized that only DNA testing will positively confirm the cow's origin.
Alberta Premier Ralph Klein complained Monday that a U.S. announcement made Saturday about the cow coming from Canada was premature.
"It's a difficult call on our part in term of keeping the public informed . . . and not being premature," said DeHaven.
"But it would be disingenuous not to say our primary line of inquiry takes us back to Canada."
The news came as a huge blow to an industry devastated by the discovery of the disease in an Alberta beef cow in May.
The United States and other countries immediately closed their borders to Canadian beef products, sparking a loss of more than $1.9 billion Cdn in exports.
Decisions by some 30 countries to refuse U.S. beef exports in response to the latest case, revealed last week, have been based "largely on public perception and not what we know about the science," said DeHaven.
"Even with the finding of this single cow, the U.S. remains at very low risk."
He did not explain how that squares with the punishing American ban on Canadian beef after the discovery that a lone cow had bovine spongiform encephalopathy or BSE.
American officials are scrambling to find all of the other imported dairy animals from the herd for testing and have traced meat products to eight states and the territory of Guam that are being recalled.
DeHaven didn't rule out the possibility that some of the feed that likely infected the Holstein came from the United States.
"We have a highly integrated system; we have acknowledged that from the beginning."
Feed containing animal parts such as brain and spinal cord tissue, the primary means of infection, was banned across North America in August 1997.
DeHaven said it's premature to say whether there's any connection between the two diseased cows.
Humans who eat brain or spinal tissue from an infected cow can develop a brain-wasting illness, variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. During a mad cow outbreak in Britain in the 1980s, 143 people died.
Canadian producers went into the holiday season with high hopes the United States would soon lift its ban on the trade of live cattle early in the new year.
Some fear that could be in peril now. Public comments on allowing young cattle across the border are due Jan. 5 and DeHaven said officials are encouraging opinion, especially given the new mad cow case.
"This new information will be given all due consideration," he said.
The diseased Holstein had three calves after she entered the United States, American officials said. One died, and another remains in a herd in Washington state. A third calf, a male, is being held in isolation.
DeHaven said it would be highly unlikely that mad cow disease could be transmitted to calves from an infected animal.
He also said there was no reason to question the safety of the U.S. meat supply since the source of the disease is not found in muscle tissue, the source of roasts, steaks and other beef cuts.
While the United States scrambles to assure Americans and foreign customers that its meat is safe, it's also facing hard questions about the adequacy of its BSE testing.
The United States annually tests only about 20,000 animals a year, said DeHaven. Those tested are the ones that show central nervous system disorders or so-called downer cows that have trouble moving at time of slaughter.
"One of the things we're looking at is additional testing."
Americans don't have a system to track which farms produced sick cattle, now required in Europe, Canada and Japan.
-
The following countries have banned U.S. beef because of a case of mad cow disease in a Washington state cow:
-Argentina
-Australia
-Brazil
-Bulgaria
-Cambodia
-Canada (ban limited to processed meats)
-Chile
-China, including Hong Kong
-Colombia
-Costa Rica
-Egypt
-Indonesia
-Jamaica
-Japan
-Jordan
-Kuwait
-Lebanon
-Malaysia
-Mexico
-Nicaragua
-Peru
-Russia
-Singapore
-South Africa
-South Korea
-Taiwan
-Thailand
-Ukraine
-Uruguay
-Venezuela
-Vietnam
-
Sources: U.S. Department of Agriculture, AP sources
The online source for news sports entertainment finance and business news in Canada
Search news stories |
