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POTENTIAL BSE CASE IN ALBERTA

Manitoba_Rancher

Well-known member
POTENTIAL BSE CASE IN ALBERTA
OTTAWA, July 10, 2006 - The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) is currently conducting confirmatory testing at the National Reference Laboratory in Winnipeg of samples from a cow from Alberta suspected of having bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE). Preliminary screening tests were not able to rule out BSE. Therefore, consistent with established CFIA protocol, additional analysis is underway.

The animal, reported to be a 50-month old dairy cow, died and was retained on farm. No part of the carcass entered the human food or animal feed systems, and the entire carcass has been placed under control. The cow was identified through the national BSE surveillance program.

This detection is consistent with a low level of disease and does not indicate an increased risk of BSE in Canada.

Canada's surveillance program, which targets cattle most likely to be affected by BSE, has tested more that 115,000 animals since Canada's first BSE case in 2003.

The CFIA has launched an investigation to collect additional information about the affected animal. In addition, the CFIA will identify other animals of equivalent risk, namely cattle born on the same farm within 12 months before and after the affected animal. Any live animals found from this group will be segregated and tested.

Given its age, this animal would have been exposed to the BSE agent after the 1997 introduction of Canada's feed ban, likely during its first year of life. An exhaustive investigation to examine possible routes of infection has begun on the farm. This finding is consistent with international experience, which demonstrates that BSE cases born after the introduction of feed bans are seen in other countries affected by the disease. On June 26, 2006, the Government announced regulatory enhancements to Canada's feed ban to exclude SRM from all animal feeds, pet foods and fertilizers. This strengthening of the ban provides an even greater barrier to any potential for the circulation of infectious material in order to accelerate the eradication of BSE in the shortest time frame possible.

The safety of Canada's food supply remains protected through the removal of specified risk material (SRM) from all cattle slaughtered for human consumption. SRM are cattle tissues that have been shown in infected cattle to contain concentrated levels of the BSE agent. This measure is internationally recognized as the most effective means to protect the safety of food from BSE.

As testing and the investigation progress, the CFIA will provide Canadians and trading partners with regular updates. Information will be posted to the CFIA's Website as it becomes available.

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A

Anonymous

Guest
I think this article out of the Calgary Sun and the questions asked by the author pretty well fit the situation- in both countries...The disease will not go away until our regulatory agencies take back some control from the Multinational Corporate Packers and put in the correct amount of testing and safeguards....Why aren't more of our so-called Cattlemans associations in both countries standing up and screaming for the USDA and CFIA to close the loopholes- not a year from now- but yesterday....

And Reader2 I have to agree with you- from all I've read about this "atypical" the science and USDA are in wonderland- not having any firm knowledge of it- and now putting out a "crapshoot science"...I read an article the other day where several Doctors are believing because of the similaritys in makeup, that it could be related to sporadic CJD and possibly Alzheimers and are suggesting some intense research needs to be done to see what the connections may be...

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Cattle policy pure madness

It doesn't take an expert to figure out critter cannibalism must end



By Licia Corbella

Columnist

The Calgary Sun

July 9, 2006

Canada



What, pray tell, do we pay our government experts for?



After all, three years ago, after a few days of intensive research, I came to a rather obvious conclusion that there was one way -- and only one way -- to ensure that Canada wouldn't keep on producing mad cows -- that is cows with bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE).



How did I propose to do that?



By completely banning all animal protein from entering livestock feed.



Period.



No exceptions.



Last month, Canada took one more baby step towards such a ban, but really still has a long way to go before it does the right thing and turns Canada's cattle into herbivores again rather than meat eaters -- and in many cases cannibals.



On June 26, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency announced that it will ban the use of so-called "specified risk material" such as the brain, spinal cord and eyeballs from all livestock feed as of July 12, 2007.



It's frankly, an outrageous delay to protect our food source and an important multi-billion dollar industry.



Currently, our pigs and chickens are eating cows and our cows are eating pigs and chickens even though they're all supposed to be herbivores.



It's a disgusting practice made all the worse since it's known the feed often gets mixed up, turning all of those consumable animals into cannibals.



Just this past Tuesday, federal officials confirmed a 15-year-old cow from near Gimli, Man. was infected with mad cow disease, making it the country's sixth case since the first Alberta case was discovered in 2003.



But if Canada had followed the lead of Britain -- which caused mad cow disease to begin with -- Canada most likely wouldn't have had ANY mad cows at all and countless ranchers and feedlot operators wouldn't have gone bankrupt after the U.S. border and borders around the world were slammed shut to our beef when an Alberta-born cow was discovered with the dreaded disease on May 20, 2003.



In July 1988, Britain banned the practice of turning cows into cannibals by imposing a ruminant-to-ruminant feed ban, which means all animals with four stomachs, such as sheep, cows and elk -- herbivores all -- weren't allowed to eat one and other any more.



The U.S. and Canada waited another nine long years until 1997 to follow suit.



And guess what?



This latest mad cow was born in 1991, three years after the Brits banned cattle cannibalism (a practice they started).



While it's not fair to compare Canada's fabulous beef industry with Britain's abysmal one, surely our experts could have and should have gleaned some important information from the disaster that occurred there and throughout Europe as a result of the grotesque practice of feeding Bessy the cow to Bart the bull and Bart the bull to Bessy and so on.



In total, some 183,000 British cows were infected with BSE.



Nevertheless, despite the ruminant-to-ruminant feed ban, more than 43,000 of those infected cows were born AFTER July 1988.



If it's true BSE can't be spread from cow to cow and only either at birth or through its feed, then what was happening?



Experts say it's safe to assume that many of those 43,000 cattle were infected by what they were eating.



Clearly, cattle cannibalism hadn't stopped, despite the limited feed ban.



So, were British farmers defying the ruminant-to-ruminant ban?



Yes, though not necessarily intentionally.



Those cruddy cattle parts -- like the eyeballs, brains and spinal columns, called specified risk materials (SRMs)-- were now finding their way into chicken and pig feed and that feed was finding its way back to Bessy the cow and Bart the bull.



The Brits finally figured it out and in August 1996, the government there imposed a feed ban that completely prohibited cattle and sheep parts from being rendered into ANY kind of feed.



And Canada is only planning on banning SRMs from livestock feed in July 2007?



It makes no sense.



Several years ago I interviewed Dr. Connie Argue, veterinary program specialist for the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) who said after the first mad cow was discovered in Alberta in May, the CFIA "scrutinized" 200 Canadian farms and found three farms where cattle were found inadvertently eating their own kind when they broke into bags destined for pigs and chickens instead.



That's 1.5%.



Recognizing the risk of exactly that happening, in 2001 the European Union banned all cattle, chicken AND pig protein from the feed market altogether. Cows in Europe are herbivores again!



Imagine that?



The answer to this problem is simple.



Why are we trying to reinvent the wheel when the answer is so obvious?



Cattle and other ruminant protein should not be finding its way into ANY feed for any animal or fertilizer because history proves it is inevitably fed back to cows.



If a lay person like me could figure that out way back in July 2003, why has it taken our government experts another three years to come to the same conclusion?



And why are we waiting another year to implement the ban?



What do we pay these experts for?
 

Sandhusker

Well-known member
50 months would mean the cow was born in 2002 - 5 years after the ban. Don't worry, the USDA will say this doesn't change a thing - any bets?
 

Mrs.Greg

Well-known member
You Americans can say whatever you want,we ARE finding our cases. Bury your heads in the sand if you want,there has been soo much buying and selling of cattle across the border ,beef and dairy cattle,that theres no DAMN way you have no cases. I'm proad we're finding ours!!
 

ranch hand

Well-known member
Mrs.Greg said:
You Americans can say whatever you want,we ARE finding our cases. Bury your heads in the sand if you want,there has been soo much buying and selling of cattle across the border ,beef and dairy cattle,that theres no DAMN way you have no cases. I'm proad we're finding ours!!

Mrs Greg........you need to talk to MRJ........she would be proud to tell you the USDA has it down to a science on the testing and how many cattle would have it in the USA. I think we need more questions answered before we a step in any direction on this. What is not working?
 

Mike

Well-known member
BTW -- I heard about a NEW human prion disease on the weekend -- several cases of which are confirmed in the U.S. now -- the characteristics of it being that it does NOT test positive on the WESTERN BLOT. Remind you of anything?

What does it remind you of? I know the IHC is incapable (mostly) of detecting atypical because of the younger ages, etc.

Western Blot is finding proteins, it should emcompass all strains?
 

bse-tester

Well-known member
CFIA Quote regarding the latest BSE Case:

Given its age, this animal would have been exposed to the BSE agent after the 1997 introduction of Canada's feed ban, likely during its first year of life.

I seem to remember our illustrious Minister of Health (Anne McClellan) publicaly stating that it is impossible for any animal (cattle) to contract BSE under 30 months. She made that statement when the Feds were being inundated with concerned farmers and ranchers worried about how far this crisis was going to go.

It is sadly obvious that the governments of both Canada and the United Stated have little or no idea with respect to Prion Disease and how it is transmitted or contracted. The local vets are struggling to learn all there is to learn about it and yet when the folks who have devoted their lives to prion research come forward to offer their assistance, they are shunned!!! Why is that if one believes that the governments do not wish to relinquish total control and let those who understand the disease either help or take over??? Smacks of 'hidden agenda's' to me.
 

bse-tester

Well-known member
Mike wrote:

Western Blot is finding proteins, it should emcompass all strains?

Western Blot will identify the PrP, PrPc and PrPsc in the processed sample Mike - of that there is no doubt! Any new strain will be detected and yet I doubt we shall see a mutationed form of PrPsc for some time yet. We need a serious outbreak like the Brits had to bring about mutationable sequences. We do not typically have the numbers here in North America to bring that on I don't think, but then, anything is possible. You are precisely right Mike, protein is protein and we can detect it with our test that incorporates WB. Ron.
 

RoperAB

Well-known member
The Milk replacer we were using after the feedban was American and had blood meal in it.
At the time it was the only thing you could buy. I havnt been calveing for a couple of years so I dont know whats availible now.
So dairy guys use a lot of milk replacer? I dont know much of anything about dairy.
 

Econ101

Well-known member
RoperAB said:
The Milk replacer we were using after the feedban was American and had blood meal in it.
At the time it was the only thing you could buy. I havnt been calveing for a couple of years so I dont know whats availible now.
So dairy guys use a lot of milk replacer? I dont know much of anything about dairy.

Dairies usually take the calf off the mother right away, possibly after colostrom feeding, and then they are on replacer then on out.

If they could only trace this stuff back through the milk replacer that would probably solve some post feed ban positives and show another transmission route that needs to be closed. This whole idea of giving herbavors meat products, no matter how economical it is, just doesn't seem right. Soylent Green for cows.

This was the question I had when the last Japanese case was reported. It was a dairy animal, I believe.
 

Aaron

Well-known member
Roper, we are currently using milk replacer to bottle-feed two orphan steer calves. Although it is not listed on the label, we found dried blood in the mix when we opened one of the earlier bags. The milk replacer is Big Mama, made by Feed-Rite.
 
A

Anonymous

Guest
Aaron said:
Roper, we are currently using milk replacer to bottle-feed two orphan steer calves. Although it is not listed on the label, we found dried blood in the mix when we opened one of the earlier bags. The milk replacer is Big Mama, made by Feed-Rite.

I may be wrong- but if my memory is correct wasn't blood in milk replacer one of the items that was recommended should be removed from the market as part of the feedban originally after the first discoveries of BSE in N.A. - but then later after lobbying from the dairy industry was allowed to be continued to be sold?
 
A

Anonymous

Guest
Today 7/10/2006 4:09:00 PM


US Cattle Groups Await Canada BSE Test Results



KANSAS CITY (Dow Jones)--Representatives of the two largest U.S. cattle producer groups Monday said their groups would await final test results from the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, or CFIA, before taking a stand on a possible new case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy, or mad-cow disease.



Joe Schuele, director of trade media for the National Cattlemen's Beef Association said: "It's a position of waiting to learn all we can" about the case before making a definitive statement.



Shae Dodson, communications coordinator for R-CALF United Stockgrowers of America, said in an e-mailed response to questions: "We're going to wait until the final test results come back. If those results are positive, then we will have a statement."



The case involves a four-year-old cow in Alberta that died on the farm and was then tested, according to the CFIA. It follows on the heels of a cow that was at least 15 years old being discovered just a week ago.



Coincidentally, the latest case comes on a day when representatives of the Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease Foundation, the Consumer Federation of America, the Center for Science in the Public Interest and the Director of the National Prion Disease Pathology Surveillance Center met with U.S. Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns to discuss their concerns regarding current USDA policies for BSE.



A press release announcing the meeting said the group urged stronger safety measures to guard against BSE from getting into the U.S. food or feed chains.





Source: Lester Aldrich, Dow Jones Newswires; 913-322-5179;
 

RoperAB

Well-known member
Oldtimer said:
Aaron said:
Roper, we are currently using milk replacer to bottle-feed two orphan steer calves. Although it is not listed on the label, we found dried blood in the mix when we opened one of the earlier bags. The milk replacer is Big Mama, made by Feed-Rite.

I may be wrong- but if my memory is correct wasn't blood in milk replacer one of the items that was recommended should be removed from the market as part of the feedban originally after the first discoveries of BSE in N.A. - but then later after lobbying from the dairy industry was allowed to be continued to be sold?

I dont know. I do know that all provinces in Confederation are not equal.
Ontario and Quebec have all the power. For this very reason I was a separatest up until the last Federal election when we finally got a Federal Conservative Minority government.
This was despite the Liberals smear campain in the east about the "Calgary" agenda.
I do know that the Dairy industry is quite important to Eastern politicians in Quebec and Ontario. Look at the telivised election debates. With all the $hit that was going on out here in Western Canada where 98%? of the countries agriculture is the only time they mentioned agriculture in the debates was about the dairy and pig farmers because thats basically the only farming that concerns Quebec and Ontario.
If milk replacer was left out of the feedban by the Federal Liberals of the day because of dairy political pressure I smell a Rat.
 

DiamondSCattleCo

Well-known member
RoperAB said:
If milk replacer was left out of the feedban by the Federal Liberals of the day because of dairy political pressure I smell a Rat.

You nailed it Roper, although I'm not sure how much the dairy industry would have lobbied, since you can get blood meal free milk replacer. I have my suspicions it would the manufacturers of the milk replacer complaining about elimination of blood meal.

Rod
 

Sandhusker

Well-known member
Reader, " discussed this with the Ag Committee in 2004 -- I was unaware of milk replacer until they explained it to me - although this is a recent practice, dairies are hooked on it and are very loathe to discontinue the practice. Yes, it should have been banned and I know we have lobbied the FDA to ban it in the U.S. They also use fetal serum to make vaccines you know..."

Milk replacer is not a new practice and you're not going to get the dairies off of it. From the dairyman's perspective, you can keep the calf nursing a cow that produces enough milk for two calves and lose the milk income, or you can sell the milk and buy replacer. The best bet is to clean up the ingredient list.
 

RoperAB

Well-known member
What im talking about is the mind set of Liberals in Quebec and Ontario.
Remember Kyoto? They actually signed Canada up for more restriction than were expected of us. However they exempted the Auto and Steel manufacturers from Ontario from any restrictions!
Look at the wheat pool. They Feds were putting western farmers in jail for trying to sell their own product but yet Ontario farmers are exempt from the wheat pool.
Look at how the frieght rates worked for years on rail. Ontario producers could send goods west for little or nothing but they sure knew what to charge on grain going east.
Quebec and Ontario have a large propted up dairy industry. I garantee you they had more priority in Ottawa than the whole western beef and grain industry put together. Actually that even gives them more credit than they deserve.
 

Kathy

Well-known member
What's up with Dairy Cows?

Stressed out!
Fed massive amounts of minerals to aid in milk production.

What' up with farmed elk/deer"

Stressed out!
Fed massive amounts of minerals (manganese) to aid in antler production.

The Western Interprovincial Science Studies Association (WISSA) recently released information on Oil and Gas Emissions and reproductive health of cattle. The study tested 501 forage samples in Alberta and Saskatchewan and found:

95 % deficiency in zinc

93 % deficiency in copper

64 % deficiency in phosphorous

60 % deficiency in selenium

The report also states that “higher than recommended concentrations of molybdenum, sulfur or nitrates” were present in these forage samples.

The study does not mention any manganese deficiency in the forages. What's up with all the manganese in our cattle mineral supplements?

As long as science follows the path that TSEs have jumped species barriers like an "infectious" organism, rather than simple toxin we will not be able to understand fully prion disorders.

The toxic agent is not the protein, but the metals bound to it. These metals can also be found in many other places and can be inhaled, absorbed, consumed or injected. Inhalation of nanoparticles of metals can easily cross the blood-brain barrier.

What's up with MMT in our gasoline? (Canada)

The prion researchers need to look harder at Alzheimers etc. because many researchers there are trying to find out why oxidative stress takes place in the brain.

I am impressed with Dr. U.T. Brunk's works, of Sweden. He has revealed info. on how lysosomes within the cells contain low mass iron, (and other heavy metals). In one study when lysosomes containint low mass iron where exposed to radiation, the lysosome became sensitized to smaller amounts of radiation. When the susceptible lysosome was exposed to more (low level) radiation it bursts, releasing the low mass iron (or other metals) contained in it as well as, the hydrolytic enzymes contained in there.

The metals (eg. iron) cause Fenton-type reactions producing reactive oxygen species (ROS). This in turn can cause a cascading series of events leading to cell death. Radiation exposure is not needed to initiate this process, but it definitely caused increased susceptibility.

Various metals have been found in the lysosomes of rat brains including mercury and lead to name a couple. (Brunk et. al 1970)
 

Kathy

Well-known member
Milk replacers are also a source of very high levels of manganese. I have noticed in the last year or so, that the manufacturers of milk replacers have been adding copper sulfate, although at lesser amounts than manganese.

I found this abstract about Crohn's Disease which some of you may wish to read.

Inflamm Bowel Dis. 2006 Mar;12(3):185-91.

Nutritional deficiencies in patients with Crohn's disease in remission.

Filippi J, Al-Jaouni R, Wiroth JB, Hebuterne X, Schneider SM.

Federation d'Hepato-Gastroenterologie et Nutrition Clinique, Hopital de L'Archet, Nice, France.

BACKGROUND: Patients with Crohn's disease (CD) are at risk of developing nutritional deficiencies, especially because of restrictive diets. The aim of our study was to assess food intake and the status for vitamins and trace elements in nonselected CD patients in clinical remission. METHODS: A total of 54 consecutive CD patients (28 females, 26 males, 39 +/- 2 years of age [mean +/- SD]) in clinical remission for >3 months underwent body composition, resting energy expenditure, nutrient intake, and plasma concentration assessment, and were compared with 25 healthy controls (16 females, 9 males, 38 +/- 3 years old). RESULTS: According to the nutritional risk index, 37 patients (70%) were not malnourished, 12 were at moderate risk, and 4 were at severe risk for malnutrition. Fat mass was lower in patients in remission compared with controls (P = 0.04). The mean daily energy intake was comparable between patients (2218 +/- 92 kcal/day) and controls (2066 +/- 101 kcal/day), covering their needs. No significant difference was observed for macronutrient intake in comparison with controls; compared to controls, female CD patients had lower intakes of beta-carotene (P < 0.005), vitamins B1 (P < 0.05), B6 (P < 0.01), and C (P < 0.005), and magnesium (P < 0.01). They had significantly higher intakes of zinc (P < 0.01). Male CD patients had lower intakes of beta-carotene and vitamin C (P < 0.05). More than 50% of patients had low plasma concentrations of vitamin C (84%), copper (84%), niacin (77%), and zinc (65%). CONCLUSIONS: In CD patients in remission, macronutrient needs are usually covered by food intake. However, micronutrient deficiencies are frequent and call for specific screening and treatment.
PMID: 16534419

Cattle with Crohn's disease are also copper deficient.

The wall of the small intestine is thickened, and prevents the proper absorption of nutrients.
 
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