Minister Believes in Surveillance System for Cattle

An Alberta cow that has tested positive for BSE is proof that the surveillance system is working well, says Chris d'Entremont, Nova Scotia Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries.

"This finding does not affect the safety of Canadian beef or beef products because the animal did not enter the human food or animal feed systems," Mr. d'Entremont said today, Jan. 24.

The confirmed case was announced Monday, Jan. 23. The BSE-positive cow's symptoms had been detected while it was still on its farm. It had been showing neurological signs consistent with BSE and the owner notified a veterinarian, who then humanely euthanized the animal and submitted a sample for testing under the national BSE surveillance program.

"The surveillance system in Canada is working. It targets cattle populations most at risk of being infected by BSE," said Mr. d'Entremont.

Since the first case of BSE in 2003, Canada's surveillance program has tested some 87,000 cattle, including more than 57,000 during the past year.

The age and geographic location of the latest animal to test positive is consistent with those found in Canada's three previous cases. The animal was almost six years old.

The fact that this animal would have been infected after the 1997 introduction of Canada's feed ban is consistent with other experiences observed around the world. Almost every country with BSE has found, and continues to find, cases born after the introduction of feed controls.