Canada confirms mad cow case in British Columbia

CALGARY, Alberta (Reuters) - Another Canadian case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy, or mad cow disease, has been confirmed in a mature dairy cow in the province of British Columbia, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency said on Wednesday.

The CFIA said the cow was 66 months old, within the age range of other Canadian cattle found to have the disease. The cow was born and died on a farm in the western part of the province's Fraser River valley.

The agency has the animal's carcass and no part of it entered the human or animal feed systems.

The case is the tenth found in Canadian cattle since 2003, and the second in less than three months. Many of the cases have been blamed on exposure to contaminated feed.

"Worldwide, it's recognized that minor contamination of feed is the most probable cause, if not the only cause of BSE," said George Luterbach, senior veterinarian for the CFIA.

The CFIA said in its release that the animal likely came into contact with infective material during the first year of its life.

The agency is now seeking the cow's herdmates to ensure they do not enter the human food supply or animal feed systems.

"The animals of interest are those born within one year of the (infected) animal," Luterbach said. "

Canada has a goal of eliminating BSE from its cattle herd within 10 years. The disease has caused major problems for beef and cattle exports to the large U.S. market.

The United States has allowed imports of Canadian beef from young cattle since September 2003, as well as young live cattle starting in 2005. However it continues to ban live cattle over the age of 30 months as well as beef from those animals.