DNA tests have confirmed that the US cow in Washington State discovered to have BSE in December came from Canada, Canadian and US officials made the joint announcement in Ottawa Tuesday. 

Dr. Ron DeHaven, the chief veterinarian of the United States Department of Agriculture, and Dr. Brian Evans of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency made the announcement at a press conference Tuesday.

The results have been highly anticipated since US officials revealed the country's first mad cow case on December 23, 2003.

The news is another blow to the Canadian cattle industry, which has experienced losses of more than US$1.9 billion since the first Canadian case of mad cow was detected in May in Canada's province of Alberta.

Evans confirmed that test conducted in Canada "fully complement those returned by the US laboratory" and that "from the outset took seriously that the possibility could have been a Canadian-born animal."

Both DeHaven and Evans maintain the food chain is safe, and that it is premature to draw a sweeping conclusion from one piece of information.

Investigations will continue to determine how the animal became infected, whether it was a feed problem, and whether there are any remaining animals in Canada that need to be tested.

Responding to the DNA test results, Federal Agriculture Minister Bob Speller told reporters there are still many outstanding questions such as how and when the cow became infected.

Speller noted how the closely knit North American industry has complicated the traceback. "I think it's important to note ... the cow in question could have easily originated from the US or Canada. The fact is that this animal was sired by a bull from the US, and was born in Canada before being exported to the US," he added.

"I invite the United States to continue to work closely with us on a North American approach to managing the risk of BSE," he said.

Looking ahead to a face-to-face meeting with his US counterpart Ann Veneman on January 16, Speller promised to lead a trade mission to Japan, South Korea and Mexico beforehand.

Earlier on Tuesday, Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin told reporters that he will press for the reopening of the American market when he meets with US President George Bush. Martin and Bush are expected to hold bilateral talks next week at the Summit of the Americas.

Currently the United States imports only boneless meat cuts from young cattle. US officials said that there will be no decision on resuming live cattle trade with Canada until the United States finishes investigating the latest case of mad cow.

Speller assured Canadians that the Canadian government is making the case for reopening the borders internationally, based on strong "scientific rationale."

Mad cow, or bovine spongiform encephalopathy, infects and creates holes in the brains of cattle. Humans can develop a deadly form of the disease by eating contaminated beef. An outbreak in Britain in the 1980s left 143 people dead. 

(Xinhua News Agency January 7, 2004)