Mad cow case detected in Canada: Food agency

Veterinary officials say the infected cow was diagnosed before being slaughtered for consumption

OTTAWA: Food authorities on Friday confirmed a case of mad cow disease in Canada's Alberta province, in the nation's first outbreak of the illness since 2011.

Veterinary officials at the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) said that the infected cow was diagnosed before being slaughtered for consumption.

The CFIA in a statement reassured the public that "no part of the animal's carcass entered the human food or animal feed systems."

The Canadian food safety agency added that it is "seeking to confirm the age of the animal, its history and how it became infected," with the disease, also known as bovine spongiform encephalopathy or BSE.

Past cases of BSE, a progressive, fatal neurological disease, have proved very costly to Canada's beef industry, prompting export bans and multi-billion dollar losses.

The CFIA said this latest case "was detected through the national BSE surveillance programme, which continues to play an important role in Canada's strategy to manage BSE."

Efforts will be made to track down other animals deemed to present an "equivalent risk" of falling ill, the agency said.

"Equivalent risk animals will be ordered destroyed and tested for BSE."