*24일 오전 7시10분에 올린 글을 업데이트(Update) 합니다.

캐나다에서 23일(현지시간) 13번째 광우병이 발생했으며, 앞으로 몇차례 더 발생할 가능성이 있는 것으로 지적되고 있다.

캐나다 식품검사국(CFIA)은 이번 광우병이 BSE 관리 감독 차원에서 발견됐다고 밝혔다고 로이터통신과 캐나다 주요언론이 24일 보도했다.

이번 광우병에 걸린 소의 월령은 알려지지 않은 채 CFIA에 보고됐다.

이 소는 캐나다 서부 브리티시 컬럼비아(B.C)에서 죽었고, 인간의 몸에는 직접적인 해를 끼치지 않은 것으로 전해졌다.

이번 광우병은 B.C에서만 2006년과 2007년에 이어 3년만에 3번째로 발생한 것이다. 나머지 10건은 앨버타 지역 농장들에서 발병했다.

CFIA 관계자는 "현재 농장에서 조사를 진행 중에 있다"며 "조사가 끝나는 대로 소의 월령을 밝힐 것"이라고 말했다.

소가 죽은 농장과 출생한 농장이 다른 것으로 알려졌다.

주로 캐나다에서의 광우병은 반추동물 등의 사료 사용 금지를 한 1997년 이전에 발병됐다. 지난해에는 이와 관련해 추가적인 조치가 내려졌었다.

2003년 집에서 기른 소에서 광우병이 발견됐으며 앞으로도 사료문제가 해결되지 않는 한 또다시 광우병이 발생할 가능성이 제기되고 있다.

CFIA 관계자는 "캐나다에서 거의 광우병을 통제하고 있지만 다시 발생할 가능성이 없지 않다"고 말했다.

캐나다는 현재 국제수역사무국(OIE)의 광우병 위험통제국인 가운데 이번 광우병 발생으로 그 지위에 영향을 주지 않을 것이라고 CFIA는 밝혔다.

CFIA는 "이번 광우병 소와 같은 계통의 소가 얼마나 있는지 현재로선 밝혀내기 어렵다"고 말했다.

CFIA는 2003년 이후 22만 마리의 소에 대해 광우병 검사를 해왔다.

이번 광우병이 국제시장에서 캐나다 산 소에 대해 크게 영향을 미치지는 않을 것으로 보이지만 그 파장이 주목된다.

한편 캐나다는 미국 농무부와 광우병 관련 갈등으로 26개월 간 수출하지 못하다가 2005년 7월부터 미국에 월령이 낮은 소들을 수출해오고 있다.

Canada probes new mad cow case; no threat seen
Mon Jun 23, 2008 4:33pm EDT 
By Allan Dowd

VANCOUVER, British Columbia (Reuters) - Canada confirmed a new case of mad cow disease on Monday, its 13th since 2003, but said the case in British Columbia did not pose a health threat.

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency said the animal was detected as part of its ongoing surveillance program for mad cow disease, or bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), which it has vowed to eradicate within a decade.

The cow, whose age was not released, was reported to CFIA after it died at a farm in the western Canadian province, and officials said no part of the animal entered the human or animal food chain.

"At this point in time we are in the process of determining the birth farm. Once we have got that solidified then we'll be able to confirm the birth date of the animal," said CFIA senior veterinarian George Luterbach.

CFIA has traced Canada's earlier cases to cattle feed produced before the country enacted a ban it containing rendered cattle or other ruminants in 1997. Additional feed restrictions were imposed last year.

Canada discovered its first home-grown case of mad cow disease in 2003, and officials have said they expect to find a small number additional cases until all the cattle exposed to residual contamination in the feed system are gone.

Proteins from the brains and spines of diseased animals can spread BSE. The human form of BSE, known as variant Creutzfeld-Jakob disease, is believed to be caused by eating infected meat.

CFIA, echoing language it has used on other recent cases, said the latest discovery does not affect Canada's status as a BSE controlled risk country as recognized by the World Organization for Animal Health.

"It was an animal that died on farm and was removed by a dead stock service," Luterbach said.

Luterbach said because officials are still trying to confirm the animal's birth farm, it was too early to say how many birth cohorts or what records exist on any offspring.

Canada's inspection program targeting animals at high risk of BSE has tested more than 220,000 cattle since 2003, CFIA said.

While Canada's initial home-grown case of the disease in 2003 prompted trade bans by other countries, the most recent cases have prompted little if any reaction from commodities markets.

New case of mad cow disease found in B.C.; third in three years
canadian press

OTTAWA — The discovery of another case of mad cow disease in B.C. will have no impact on Canada's already hard-hit beef industry, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency says.

The agency announced Monday that another cow has been identified as having bovine spongiform encephalopathy, or BSE.

"This should have no impact as far as trade, or significant impact directly within Canada," said George Luterbach, a veterinarian with the agency.

It's the third case in B.C. in the last three years and the thirteenth in Canada since the first case of mad cow came to light in 2003.

But Luterbach said Canada has been assessed by the World Organization for Animal Health and given a controlled-risk status, indicating it has the proper checks and balances to control the disease.

"As part of our risk assessment, it was recognized that as Canada moves to the eradication of BSE . . . there would likely be a small number cases that will be detected along the way, and this is well understood by our trading partners," he said in an interview Monday.

Luterbach said over 220,000 cattle in Canada have been tested for BSE since the country's first case saw the U.S. and other international borders closed to Canadian beef in 2003.

"Those cattle have been selected to be the highest potential risk animals for BSE," he said.

"We've very confident that BSE is not common nor widespread in Canada because of our surveillance."

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency hasn't said where the infected cow is located but an investigation is under way to determine where the cow was born.

The inspection agency said a ban on using animal materials in feed products has virtually eliminated the spread of BSE in Canada, but it said a small number of mad cow cases are still expected to surface.

In 2006 and 2007 the disease was found in two B.C. dairy cows, and in both cases the agency said the infection was caused by contaminated feed.

It also said there was no risk to public health because no part of the animal entered the human food systems.