An “atypical” case of bovine spongiform encephalopothy (BSE), also known as mad cow disease, has been confirmed Tuesday in an 11-year-old beef cow in Alabama, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Luckily, the animal had never entered the slaughterhouse and “at no time presented a risk to food supply or human health.”
A news release by the Alabama Department of Agriculture and Industries reveals that the sick animal was found during routine surveillance at an Alabama livestock market, where it died. Samples of the animal were sent to a USDA lab in Iowa to confirm that the cow contained the disease.
The department called this occurrence “atypical” and “a rare and spontaneous incident.”
In fact, the USDA reported that this is only the fifth case of the atypical form of the disease that has ever been confirmed in the United States. However, this is the second time mad cow disease has been discovered in Alabama.
There are two different forms of BSE, classical and atypical, according to the USDA. Classical BSE initially struck the United Kingdom in the late 1980s and has been linked to variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease in humans.
The most common cause of this type of BSE happens when cows consume products that contain brain or spinal tissue from other bovines. However, the USDA banned the use of this kind of protein supplement in 1997.
The atypical, or L-type, form of BSE that was confirmed in Alabama rarely and spontaneously occurs, generally in cattle eight years or older. It’s also not usually associated with the feeding of bovine by-products to cows.
The World Organization for Animal Health has recognized the U.S. as having “negligible risk for BSE,” according to USDA.
“The Alabama beef industry is vital to our state’s agriculture economy,” Alabama Agriculture Commissioner John McMillan said in a news release. “The response to this case by USDA officials and our department’s professionals led by State Veterinarian Dr. Tony Frazier has been exemplary. This instance proves to us that our on-going surveillance program is working effectively.”
