Mad cow: Why here?: Study will attempt to find out why Western Canada afflicted; January 21, 2005; The Calgary Herald 

By Gina Teel

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency is, according to this story, setting its sights on Western Canada in an attempt to better understand why multiple cases of mad cow disease have turned up in Alberta.

Gary Little, a senior veterinarian with the agency, was cited as saying that a new investigation will evaluate each of the three previous mad cow investigations and search for common denominators -- if they exist -- that may shed some light on why the disease appears in Alberta as opposed to elsewhere in Canada, adding, "Certainly this is a sporadic and random occurrence, and if we could only predict where we'd find it I guess we'd all be better off."

Little was further cited as saying that Canada's past practice of importing breeding cattle from the U.K., the bulk of which wound up on Alberta ranches before such imports were restricted in late 1989, is one possible explanation, adding, "That may be in part and parcel of why it's showed up there (Alberta) as opposed to other places."

The larger question of why mad cow disease has turned up in Alberta and not in the U.S. has stumped officials, given the integrated nature of the North American cattle industry.

Gerald Ollis, Alberta's chief provincial veterinarian, was quoted as saying Thursday, "That we've been able to detect it and the Americans haven't could be just simply the effect of statistically random sampling, and we've unfortunately been able to find it."