South Korea on Sunday suspended the importation of Canadian beef because of fears ofmad cowdisease

 South Korea on Sunday suspended the importation of Canadian beef because of fears ofmad cowdisease.The Canadian Food Inspection Agency confirmed Friday that a cow in Alberta was infected with the disease. The farm in Northern Alberta is under quarantine while inspectors investigate.

181. Indeed, Allah has heard the statement of those (Jews) who say: "Truly, Allah is poor and we are rich!" We shall record what they have said and their killing of the Prophets unjustly, and We shall say: "Taste you the torment of the burning (Fire)."

182. This is because of that (evil) which your hands have sent before you. And certainly, Allah is never unjust to (His) slaves.

183. Those (Jews) who said: "Verily, Allah has taken our promise not to believe in any Messenger unless he brings to us an offering which the fire (from heaven) shall devour." Say: "Verily, there came to you Messengers before me, with clear signs and even with what you speak of; why then did you kill them, if you are truthful?"

184. Then if they reject you (O Muhammad ), so were Messengers rejected before you, who came with Al-Baiyinat (clear signs, proofs, evidences) and the Scripture and the Book of Enlightenment.

185. Everyone shall taste death. And only on the Day of Resurrection shall you be paid your wages in full. And whoever is removed away from the Fire and admitted to Paradise, he indeed is successful. The life of this world is only the enjoyment of deception (a deceiving thing).

186. You shall certainly be tried and tested in your wealth and properties and in your personal selves, and you shall certainly hear much that will grieve you from those who received the Scripture before you (Jews and Christians) and from those who ascribe partners to Allah, but if you persevere patiently, and become Al-Muttaqun (the pious - see V.2:2) then verily, that will be a determining factor in all affairs, and that is from the great matters, [which you must hold on with all your efforts].

187. (And remember) when Allah took a covenant from those who were given the Scripture (Jews and Christians) to make it (the news of the coming of Prophet Muhammad  and the religious knowledge) known and clear to mankind, and not to hide it, but they threw it away behind their backs, and purchased with it some miserable gain! And indeed worst is that which they bought.

188. Think not that those who rejoice in what they have done (or brought about), and love to be praised for what they have not done,- think not you that they are rescued from the torment, and for them is a painful torment.3. Aal-'Imran

The infected cow has been destroyed but it is not known how many farms the cow went through before arriving at the latest farm or if it infected others in the herd.

Bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) – a progressive brain disease that can prove fatal – is believed to originate and spread when cattle eat food derived from the brains and spines of infected cattle or sheep.

It is the first confirmed case in Canada since 2011.

Canadian Federal Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz said he is “not at all” worried that other countries would ban Canadian beef.

“We have controlled risk status, which means you can have up to 12 outbreaks in any calendar year,” Ritz said. “We’ve stayed well below that.”

The World Organization for Animal Health gave Canada a “controlled risk” status after mad cow disease was discovered in 2011 in a Canadian cow.

South Korea became the first country to ban Canadian beef in the face of this latest scare and if the ban stays in place, it could hurt the industry and the Canadian economy.

In 2003, more than 30 countries including the United States banned the importation of Canadian beeffollowing the discovery of mad cow disease. The government estimated the loss to the Canadian economy was $11 million a day.

A new surveillance system was put in place following that incident.

“We are close to eradicating this disease worldwide and Canadian producers, in Alberta especially, have been very good at participating in the surveillance program, submitting samples of animals for testing,” Dave Solverson, president of the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association, told the Edmonton Journal.

Under the program, about 30,000 test samples are collected and analyzed each year, 10,000 of those in Alberta, according to the province’s chief provincial veterinarian.

In 2012, South Korea lifted its nine-year ban of Canadian beef, put in place when the 2003 mad cowscare occurred.

Canada is the world’s third-largest exporter of beef and before the 2003 ban, South Korea was its fourth biggest market.

South Korea was expected to import as much at $24 million of Canadian beef in 2015.

CDC and the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) have completed the investigation of the recently reported fourth vCJD case in the United States. It confirmed that the case was in a US citizen born outside the Americas and indicated that the patient's exposure to the BSE/vCJD agent most likely occurred before he moved to the United States; the patient had resided in Kuwait, Russia and Lebanon. The completed investigation did not support the patient's having had extended travel to European countries, including the United Kingdom, or travel to Saudi Arabia. The specific overseas country where this patient’s infection occurred is less clear largely because the investigation did not definitely link him to a country where other known vCJD cases likely had been infected.

Original Announcement (June 2, 2014)

Laboratory tests have confirmed a diagnosis of variant CJD (a fatal brain disorder) in a patient who recently died in Texas. The confirmation was made when laboratory results from an autopsy of the patient’s brain tested positive for variant CJD.

First described in 1996 in the United Kingdom, variant CJD is a rare, degenerative, fatal brain disorder in humans. It is believed to be caused by consumption of products from cows with the disease bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE, or "mad cow" disease).

Worldwide, more than 220 variant CJD patients have been reported, with a majority of them in the United Kingdom (177 cases) and France (27 cases). This case is the fourth to be reported in the United States. In each of the three previous cases, infection likely occurred outside the United States, including the United Kingdom (2 cases) and Saudi Arabia (1 case). The history of this fourth patient, including extensive travel to Europe and the Middle East, supports the likelihood that infection occurred outside the United States.

CDC assisted the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS)'s investigation of this case and will continue to help confirm further details of the patient's history, including the potential source of infection.