Canada Sure of New Mad Cow Case

Canada on Sunday confirmed its second case of mad cow disease, just days after the United States said it planned to reopen its border to Canadian beef.

The dairy cow from Alberta province, born in 1996, tested positive for bovine spongiform encephalopathy, as mad cow disease is formally known, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency said. The results confirmed preliminary tests released last week.

The border was closed to beef 19 months ago when a cow in northern Alberta was discovered with mad cow disease, which attacks the animals’ nervous system. Concerns persisted after a Canadian-born cow in Washington state was found in December 2003 to have the disease. Humans who eat food contaminated with BSE can develop the highly fatal Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced Wednesday that the border could be opened in March. Despite learning of the new suspected case, the Bush administration said the next day that it would stand by its decision to renew Canadian cattle imports, expressing confidence that public health measures in both countries would protect U.S. livestock and consumers.

The Agriculture Department suggested Sunday that its stance would not change.

“I don’t anticipate that this confirmation will change implementation of our rule,” spokeswoman Alisa Harrison said Sunday. “I think it’s pretty much where we were last week. We’ve been working closely with Canadian officials.”

Harrison said U.S. officials had considered the possibility of additional confirmed mad cow cases in Canada and their action was “based on guidelines set by the World Health Organization.” She said the rule was to be formalized Tuesday.

Under the WHO guidelines, Harrison said, a country with 5.5 million head of cattle over 24 months of age such as Canada could have 11 cases of mad cow over 12 months and still be considered a minimal-risk nation.