The Black Angus
cow in Alberta, labeled Case # 19, was a downer and the attending veterinarian
sent a sample to test for BSE which was confirmed.
The cow was born
in March 2009, 20 months after the CFIA imposed its “enhanced feed ban” that
eliminated “specified risk materials” (SRMs) from the food chain.
The CFIA
speculates that some left-over feed was responsible for infecting this cow.
Another BSE case was identified at the same farm in 2004.
As part of its
control measures, the CFIA tracked down 716 animals that might have been
exposed to Case #19. They confirmed that 570 have been slaughtered or died and
they have 110 under quarantine.
The CFIA report
says “considering the stringent safeguards implemented from 2007 to ensure that
SRMs are excluded from the entire terrestrial and aquatic animal feed chains as
well as fertilizer, together with the rigorous inspection oversight by the CFIA
the contamination of both prohibited and non-prohibited materials with SRM at
either a slaughter establishment or a rendering facility, would in all
likelihood, be highly improbable.
“As a result,
the carry-over of a small amount of residual contaminated feed associated with
the earlier case (#17) on the same birth farm is the most plausible explanation
for BSE case #19.
“Trace-out of
birth cohort animals is ongoing and expected to be completed for the end of
2015.
“Live cohorts
traced are permanently identified, their movements controlled and upon death or
destruction are disposed of in accordance with OIE (world animal health)
requirements and the CFIA's BSE Manual of Procedures.”
The full report
is posted on the CFIA website.
