Canada detects new case of mad cow disease

OTTAWA, Jan 11 (AFP) - Canada said on Tuesday it had detected a new case of mad cow disease in a beef cow from the western province of Alberta.
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency said in a statement that the infected cow was just under seven years of age -- meaning it was born after new restrictions on cattle feed were introduced to halt the spread of the disease.
But the agency said food produced before the new rules came into force, which was still in the system at the time of its birth, was the most likely souce of infection with bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE)
"No part of the animal has entered the human food or animal feed systems," the agency said in the statement.
Investigators confirmed the previous case of BSE in the country on January 3, just after the United States said it would resume imports of live Canadian cattle halted after an initial case of mad cow disease in Canada in 2003.

01/11/2005 18:42 GMT - AFP