DNA test confirms cow came from Canada
By Dairy Herd news source
| Tuesday, January 06, 2004
USDA officials announced today that two sets of genetic tests confirm that the BSE-infected cow in Washington state was born on a dairy in Alberta, Canada.
Records indicate she was born in April 1997 — just four months before feed restrictions were adopted in Canada and the U.S. The 86-cow dairy is no longer in business, as the cows were sold when the owner retired due to health problems. Eighty-one of those cows were exported to Washington. USDA is still trying to track down 70 of those animals.
Since the most likely cause of the infection is contaminated feed, officials will now start looking for any feed sources that were in common between the Alberta dairy and the Alberta beef operation where a BSE-infected cow was discovered last May.
U.S. officials now say they will not make a final decision to reopen the border to live cattle from Canada until after the investigation is complete. Many in the U.S. are hopeful the test results can be used to help the U.S. retain its BSE-free status in order to quell concerns of trading partners who have stopped receiving U.S. beef.
USDA
