The animal did not enter the food supply
By Diego Flammini
Staff Writer
Farms.com
A six-year-old Florida beef cow tested positive for atypical BSE after federal observation.
USDA confirmed the diagnosis after an Aug. 26 round of regular surveillance of cattle deemed unfit for processing. Colorado State University’s veterinary lab conducted the testing.
The cow did not enter the food supply or pose a threat to human health.
“This detection shows just how well our surveillance system works,” Adam Putnam, Florida’s agriculture commissioner, said in a statement yesterday. “We’re grateful to our partners at the U.S. Department of Agriculture who work alongside us day in and day out to conduct routine surveillance and protect consumers.”
BSE can occur in atypical and classical forms.
Atypical cases tend to occur in older cows and are not contagious, said Matthew Hersom, an extension beef cattle specialist at the University of Florida.
“It’s called atypical because it just shows up spontaneously,” he told Farms.com today. “We see it more in older cows. Unfortunately, because it develops spontaneously, farmers can’t do anything to fend it off. But it’s important to note that this form of BSE, which this cow had, isn’t communicable.”
This recent atypical diagnosis is the sixth case the United States. Four diagnoses were atypical, and the lone classical case of BSE came from a cow imported from Canada.
Classical BSE can be transmitted between cows and humans and has been linked to Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, a rare and fatal brain disorder for which there is no cure.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration prohibited the inclusion of mammalian protein in feed since 1997, which helps to protect people from contracting the disease through beef.