Canada has another confirmed case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), or mad cow disease, Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) said Sunday.

A final laboratory test has confirmed the case in a dairy farm in Canada's western province of Alberta, according to veterinary officials with the CFIA.

"The infected animal was detected through the recently enhanced national surveillance program. Additional cases may be found as testing of high-risk cattle continues," the agency said in a news release on its website.

"The CFIA is continuing its investigation and has determined the infected animal's farm of origin. Efforts are now under way to identify any other animals of similar risk."

The results confirmed preliminary tests released earlier this week.

Officials with the CFIA said the infected cow did not enter the human food or animal feed supply and posed no risk to the public.

The confirmed case turned up just days after the United States announced plans to reopen its border to live young cattle from Canada after a 19-month ban which has brought about economic loss of billions of dollars.

On Wednesday, the US Department of Agriculture said it would reopen its border to nearly all Canadian exports of beef and live cattle beginning March 7, and on the next day US officials said there were no plans to change that, despite the preliminary positive test.

The US Department of Agriculture said it recognized Canada as a "minimal-risk region" for BSE, partly because of measures taken to prevent the spread of the disease.

Canada's first home-grown case of mad cow disease was found in May 2003 and cost export-dependent farmers an estimated 4.2 billion US dollars as trade partners closed their borders to Canadian beef and cattle.

Source: Xinhua