The Canadian government confirmed July 13 the nation's seventh case of BSE in a 50-month-old dairy cow in Alberta, and because the animal was born well after the 1997 Canadian feed ban, USDA will send an expert to assist Canada in its epidemiological study of the animal's origins and feeding practices.
The Canadian authorities, acknowledging the animal was born after the feed ban, said "a full accounting and determination of how this animal was exposed to BSE will be the primary focus" of the government's investigation.
Secretary of Agriculture Mike Johanns said "Diagnosis of an animal born roughly four and a half years after the,feed ban does raise questions that must be answered." He said a thorough understanding of all circumstances is necessary "to assure our consumers that Canada's regulatory system is effectively providing the utmost protections," to consumers and ranchers.