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Cow in Canada Tests Positive for Mad Cow Disease
Aired May 20, 2003 - 13:40 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: We're following a little bit of breaking news here, in Canada, they're reporting one case of mad cow disease in northern Alberta. We're told that the herd from which this cattle was drawn has been isolated, and this test occurred back on January 31. and is just now coming to light.
But to get a few more details, we're joined on the line by Dr. Debbie Barr, who is of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency.
Dr. Barr, good to have you with us.
DR. DEBBIE BARR, CANADIAN FOOD INSPECTION AGENCY: Thank you. It's nice to be here.
O'BRIEN: All right, first of all, just tell us about this inspection. Was it a routine inspection, and why are we just now hearing about it some months after the test proved the cow positive for mad cow?
BARR: The situation was there was an 8-year-old cow that showed generalized science of illness that was sent for slaughter at a provincial meat plant in Alberta. On post-mortem, the only sign shown was evidence of pneumonia.
However, it is routine to take samples from animals that are condemned. The animal was condemned. It was declared unfit for human consumption, and did not enter the food chain at all. It's routine in situations like that to take samples as part of our BSE surveillance program.
And on the 16th of May, the CFIA, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, was notified that preliminary test results suggested a possibility of BSE.
O'BRIEN: OK, how can you be so certain that mad cow did not, in fact, enter the food chain in Canada?
BARR: We can be certain that this one cow did not enter the food chain, and that's what we're focusing on now. We're focusing on this one cow, and the case of BSE that has been diagnosed in this cow.
O'BRIEN: All right, isn't it possible the mad cow disease did, in fact, spread among the herd and other cows might have been infected?
BARR: I think it's too immature to speculate on anything that. The investigation is just beginning, and certainly the investigation will be comprehensive and thorough, and we will see what turns up in the results.
O'BRIEN: When you say what turns up, what is the incubation period should a human being be exposed to mad cow and develop the human version of that disease?
BARR: I can't speak to the incubation periods in humans. That's certainly a human health issue. Incubation periods in animals, it varies anywhere from -- average is three to six years, and frequently, six years is the figure that's given as the average incubation period.
O'BRIEN: One final thought, is this the first time mad cow has ever been discovered in Canada, or for that matter, North America?
BARR: There was a cow diagnosed earlier, in 1993, and that was -- and a cow that had been imported from the United Kingdom. And that cow, there was an immediate and comprehensive eradication effort at that point in time, at that period of time.
O'BRIEN: Did this cow have any origin in the United Kingdom?
BARR: We don't know that yet. The investigation is just beginning. We know the cow spent the last three years on a farm in Alberta. However, the cow is 8 years old, so we're currently in the process tracing its whereabouts before that.
O'BRIEN: Dr. Debbie Barr is with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, joining us on the line, shedding some light on the discovery of mad cow disease in at least one head of cattle in northern Alberta.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired May 20, 2003 - 13:40 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: We're following a little bit of breaking news here, in Canada, they're reporting one case of mad cow disease in northern Alberta. We're told that the herd from which this cattle was drawn has been isolated, and this test occurred back on January 31. and is just now coming to light.
But to get a few more details, we're joined on the line by Dr. Debbie Barr, who is of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency.
Dr. Barr, good to have you with us.
DR. DEBBIE BARR, CANADIAN FOOD INSPECTION AGENCY: Thank you. It's nice to be here.
O'BRIEN: All right, first of all, just tell us about this inspection. Was it a routine inspection, and why are we just now hearing about it some months after the test proved the cow positive for mad cow?
BARR: The situation was there was an 8-year-old cow that showed generalized science of illness that was sent for slaughter at a provincial meat plant in Alberta. On post-mortem, the only sign shown was evidence of pneumonia.
However, it is routine to take samples from animals that are condemned. The animal was condemned. It was declared unfit for human consumption, and did not enter the food chain at all. It's routine in situations like that to take samples as part of our BSE surveillance program.
And on the 16th of May, the CFIA, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, was notified that preliminary test results suggested a possibility of BSE.
O'BRIEN: OK, how can you be so certain that mad cow did not, in fact, enter the food chain in Canada?
BARR: We can be certain that this one cow did not enter the food chain, and that's what we're focusing on now. We're focusing on this one cow, and the case of BSE that has been diagnosed in this cow.
O'BRIEN: All right, isn't it possible the mad cow disease did, in fact, spread among the herd and other cows might have been infected?
BARR: I think it's too immature to speculate on anything that. The investigation is just beginning, and certainly the investigation will be comprehensive and thorough, and we will see what turns up in the results.
O'BRIEN: When you say what turns up, what is the incubation period should a human being be exposed to mad cow and develop the human version of that disease?
BARR: I can't speak to the incubation periods in humans. That's certainly a human health issue. Incubation periods in animals, it varies anywhere from -- average is three to six years, and frequently, six years is the figure that's given as the average incubation period.
O'BRIEN: One final thought, is this the first time mad cow has ever been discovered in Canada, or for that matter, North America?
BARR: There was a cow diagnosed earlier, in 1993, and that was -- and a cow that had been imported from the United Kingdom. And that cow, there was an immediate and comprehensive eradication effort at that point in time, at that period of time.
O'BRIEN: Did this cow have any origin in the United Kingdom?
BARR: We don't know that yet. The investigation is just beginning. We know the cow spent the last three years on a farm in Alberta. However, the cow is 8 years old, so we're currently in the process tracing its whereabouts before that.
O'BRIEN: Dr. Debbie Barr is with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, joining us on the line, shedding some light on the discovery of mad cow disease in at least one head of cattle in northern Alberta.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
