OTTAWA, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- Canada on Wednesday confirmed the ninth case of mad cow disease in this country, but said no part of the sick bull has entered the market.

    The mature bull from Alberta tested positive for the disease, Canadian Food Inspection Agency said in a release.

    The animal's carcass is under control for mad cow disease, or bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), and no part of it entered the human food or animal chains, the agency said.

    The agency did not reveal the exact location where the animal was found.

    Preliminary information indicates that the age of the animal fell well within the age range of previous cases detected in Canada under the national BSE surveillance program, it said.

    That suggests the animal was exposed to a very small amount of infectious material, most likely during its first year of life, the release added.

    The agency has begun tracing the source of feed which led to the illness and is trying to identify animals that would have had contact with it when it contracted the disease.

    The country's first BSE case emerged in 2003 and up to five more were discovered in 2006.

    Canada has close to 13.5 million cows and calves, with about 5.7 million, or 42 percent, in Alberta . Canada's total beef exports amount to 2.2 billion Canadian dollars (1.9 billion U.S. dollars) annually.