The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) confirmed on Wednesday a new case of mad cow disease in the Prairie province Alberta.

It is Canada's fifth case in 2006 and eighth case since 2003, when the disease was first found in this country, officials said.  
 
The disease, also known as bovine spongiform encephalopathy, or BSE, is thought to be spread mainly in contaminated feed. It attacks victims through hard-to-destroy protein forms called prions, which can multiply in the brain, reducing it to a spongy wreck.

The risk of transmission to humans who consume meat from infected animals remains unclear.

Information from the dead cow's owner and a private veterinarian suggests the animal was between eight and 10 years old, the CFIA said in a statement.

No part of its carcass entered the human food or animal feed systems, the agency said.

A CFIA investigation is underway to locate the cow's birth farm, verify the animal's age, and identify other cows from the herd and possible sources of contaminated feed.

(Xinhua News Agency August 24, 2006)