WASHINGTON, Jan 11 (AFP) - The United States will send farm experts to Canada following the announcement of a new case of madcow disease and will await their recommendations before lifting a ban on Canadian beef imports, the Agriculture Department said.
Canadian officials Tuesday announced they detected a third case of mad cow disease, and for the first time the infected beef cow was born after a ban on ruminant feed introduced in 1997 to check the spread of the disease.
The discovery spurs fears that plans to lift the US ban on certain beef and cattle exports could be delayed.
The United States "will expedite sending a technical team to Canada to evaluate the circumstances surrounding these recent finds," said Ron Dehaven with the US Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
"We appreciate Canada's willingness to cooperate and assist us in these efforts. We will continue our ongoing work with Canadian officials in their epidemiological investigations to determine the facts of these cases.
The "protection of public and animal health is our top priority," said Dehaven.
Canadian investigators confirmed the previous case in Canada 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 21:31 GMT - AFP