Mad Cow Lawyer & Attorney : Marler Clark : Mad Cow Blog

Updated 8:15 AM on Sunday, July 30, 2006

By ERIC ZIMMERMAN
Special to the Eagle

As discussed in recent weeks, the United States is seriously threatened by potential occurrences of foreign animal diseases. Based on epidemiological studies, the state and federal animal health regulatory agencies have developed safeguards to prevent the entry of these diseases into the United States. Education is the key to identifying the unusual symptoms of these diseases so that, should they occur, they can be detected and reported rapidly. Regulatory agencies are prepared and ready to respond should an animal disease outbreak occur, whether accidental, natural or intentional.

Bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), also referred to as mad cow disease," affects the central nervous system of cattle. It was named for the spongy appearance of the affected brain tissue. The causative agent is an abnormal form of the prior protein of the central nervous system.

BSE was first diagnosed in Britain in 1986 and has since infected more than 178,000 head of cattle. Only two animals have tested positive for BSE in the U.S. to date - the first animal was originally from Canada, and the second animal was grown in Texas. The United States is still classifying BSE as a foreign animal disease rather than an emerging disease.

Transmission

Cattle can become infected with the disease by eating contaminated food. Since the disease peaked in 1993 in Britain, governments have banned certain foodstuffs from animal feeds. These foodstuffs are meat, blood and bone meals, brain, spinal cord, skull, vertebrae and ileum.

Since the implementation of the ban, the occurrence of BSE has decreased. Once an animal has become infected with BSE, the incubation period is two to eight years. During that time, the animal will appear normal and have no obvious clinical symptoms. However, once symptoms appear, the animal's condition quickly deteriorates, and it dies within two weeks to six months. Animals that contract BSE live an average of three to six years.

Diagnosis

There are several different symptoms associated with BSE including:

ï change in temperament such as nervousness or aggression

ï abnormal posture

ï lack of coordination

ï difficulty rising

ï decreased milk production

ï loss of body weight despite continuous appetite

There is no way to test for BSE in live cattle. The only way to diagnose the disease is to do a postmortem inspection of brain tissue to locate the abnormal form of the prior protein. BSE is a terminal disease with no treatment and no vaccine.

Prevention, regulation

The USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service works to prevent BSE in the U.S. and responds when a possible case is reported. APHIS bans the import of ruminants and ruminant products (such as fetal bovine serum, bone meal, meat, blood meal, offal, fats and glands) from countries where BSE occurs. APHIS also has prohibited the use of mammalian protein in cattle feed.

As part of the USDA surveillance program, the Food Safety and Inspection Service inspects all cattle before they are slaughtered and maintains an interlocking system of safeguards designed to prevent BSE from entering the human and animal food chain. If an animal is down and unable to rise or exhibits any central nervous system problems, it is pulled from the slaughter group, its place of origin is identified and the animal's brain is sent to the National Veterinary Service's Laboratory in Ames, Iowa, for testing to determine whether the animal is infected with BSE.

Animals pulled for testing never make it into the food chain.

ï Eric Zimmerman is a Texas Cooperative Extension agent in Brazos County specializing in agriculture and natural resources.

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From wire and staff reports

Japan on Thursday announced the resumption of U.S. beef imports, ending a ban imposed in January due to concerns about mad cow disease that had strained ties with Washington.

U.S. Ambassador Thomas Schieffer immediately welcomed the move, which reopens Japan's lucrative market to a select list of American meat exporters, saying that it resolved an issue of primary importance to the United States.

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Jul, 28 2006 - 8:00 AM

CKNW(AM980) - BC's Ministry of Agriculture is going to try to prevent any further cases of mad cow disease.
Minister Pat Bell says this is part of the government's efforts to ensure British Columbia is a BSE-free zone.

Bell says after the discovery of a case of mad cow in a dairy animal in the Fraser Valley, it's important to be vigilant. ìWell we're going to be looking at the mechanisms that ranchers and farmers have in place, dairy farmers have in place, to ensure there isn't the possibility of cross-contamination if they are a multi-use farm where they have as an example, chickens and dairy animals in the same location, they need to ensure that they're keeping their food sources separate,î Bell said.

Bell says bio-security remains a priority with the provincial government.

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Friday, July 28, 2006
By LIBBY QUAID
AP FOOD AND FARM WRITER

WASHINGTON -- More cases of mad cow disease in Canada have halted U.S. plans for a major increase in Canadian beef and cattle imports, the Agriculture Department said Friday.

Canada has found seven cows infected with mad cow disease, four this year. Some were born after Canada took safety precautions related to cattle feed that should have prevented the animals from being infected.

The Bush administration was poised to resume imports of older cattle and beef from older animals.

But the department has halted those plans, which had been under final consideration by the White House, until an investigation into Canada's recent cases has been completed.

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26.jul.06
Associated Press
Christopher Doering with additional reporting by Charles Abbott

WASHINGTON - The U.S. government virtually eliminated the threat of mad cow disease to consumers by requiring the removal of brains, spinal cords and other high risk items from older cattle, the Harvard Center for Risk Analysis said on Tuesday.

Two consumer groups applauded the progress but said the Agriculture Department was unwilling to take the more stringent steps suggested by an international advisory panel, such as banning high-risk materials from cattle 12 months or older from food and feed use.

Mad cow disease is a fatal, brain-wasting disease believed to be spread by contaminated feed. People can contract a human version of the disease by eating tainted meats. With only three cases of mad cow found in the country, USDA says the risk of mad cow is very low.

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Statement of CSPI Food Safety Director Caroline Smith DeWaal

It appears the animal that recently was confirmed as positive for bovine spongiform encephalopathy did not enter the human food supply. But since the United States does not have a mandatory animal tracking system, USDA's strategy is basically to cross its fingers and hope that beef from a BSE-infected animal doesn't end up on Americans' dinner plates. Call it a faith-based mad cow policy.

In May, Secretary of Agriculture Mike Johanns put national animal identification on a slow boat and delayed implementation until 2009. Canada was able to move from a voluntary to a mandatory animal tracking system in one year. There's no reason why the United States can't implement a system just as good as Canada's just as quickly.

Happily, the risk of contracting the human form of mad cow disease is minuscule. But the benefits of a better system that allows traceability up and down the food chain is that it would allow other potentially infected cattle to be more easily found. In addition, it also would help public officials to more easily contain food-poisoning outbreaks due to E. coli 0157:H7 and other hazards, including bioterrorism.

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21.jul.06
New York Times
Donald G. McNeil Jr.

The Agriculture Department said yesterday that it would scale back testing for mad cow disease by about 90 percent, saying the number of infected animals was far too low to justify the current level of surveillance.

ìItís time that our surveillance efforts reflect what we now know is a very, very low level of B.S.E. in the United States,î Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns said as he announced the new testing program for the disease, bovine spongiform encephalopathy.

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20.jul.06
Associated Press
Libby Quaid

WASHINGTON -- The Agriculture Department is scaling back its testing program for mad cow disease to one-tenth of what it has been since the discovery of an infected cow in the U.S.

Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns said there is little justification for the current level, which rose to about 1,000 tests a day after the first U.S. case of mad cow disease in December 2003.

The new level will be around 110 tests per day for the disease, known medically as bovine spongiform encephalopathy.

"It's time that our surveillance efforts reflect what we now know is a very, very low level of BSE in the United States," Johanns said.

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Fri Jul 21, 2006 2:54am ET

By Aya Takada

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan's decision on reopening its market to U.S. beef will not be affected by the U.S. decision to reduce its mad cow testing program, although Tokyo still wants Washington not to do so, Agriculture Minister Shoichi Nakagawa said on Friday.

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GOODNESS - WHAT IS THE BUSH ADMINSTRATION THINKING?

The government is planning to cut back on testing for BSE, otherwise known as mad cow disease.

This comes at the same time Japanese inspectors are touring 35 U.S. beef processing plants. The inspections will end Friday.

So far, Senator Chuck Hagel says only minor issues have surfaced, and he is optimistic that U.S. beef trade with Japan can resume next week.

"There should be a summary resolution meeting tomorrow at the end of the day where we are hopeful that recommendations will be made to move forward, so that in fact over the next week we can see re-opening of market for American beef," said Hagel.

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15.jul.06

CBC.CA News

American officials are sending an investigator to Alberta to look into how a cow on a farm south of Edmonton was infected with mad cow disease.

It's the seventh Canadian cow to test positive for bovine spongiform encephalopathy.

Unlike a recent BSE case in Manitoba, the Alberta cow was born after 1997, when Canada imposed a ban on the type of feed associated with BSE.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture said Thursday it would send an inspector to aid in the investigation into the Alberta case.

Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns said there are unanswered questions.

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15.jul.06

Knight-Ridder Tribune

Alan Bjerga, The Wichita Eagle, Kan.

WASHINGTON - The chief executive and founder of Creekstone Farms said Friday that even if Japan accepts U.S. beef, his company should still be allowed to test all its cattle for mad cow disease to help grow the Japanese market.

Testing for bovine spongiform encephalopathy "will help us instill confidence in our consumers," said John Stewart of Arkansas City-based Creekstone. "We still know that consumers there are skittish on U.S. beef."

Creekstone filed for summary judgment in its suit against the U.S. Agriculture Department in federal court Friday, arguing that the government has no right to keep the company from testing its cattle for mad cow disease.

The USDA has until Aug. 25 to respond to Creekstone's filing.

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13.jul.06

Canadian Food Inspection Agency

OTTAWA - The Canadian Food Inspection Agency has confirmed bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) in a 50-month-old dairy cow from Alberta. The animal was first reported on Monday, July 10, based on preliminary test results. The entire carcass has been incinerated and did not enter the human or animal feed systems.

The CFIA has located the birth farm, and investigators are tracing other cattle born on the premises within 12 months before or after the birth of the affected animal.

Given its age, the affected animal was exposed to BSE after the 1997 implementation of Canadaís feed ban. This scenario, as well as the animalís age, is consistent with the experiences of most countries reporting cases of BSE. Nonetheless, a full accounting and determination of how this animal was exposed to BSE will be the primary focus of the CFIAís investigation. The CFIA has extended an invitation to American animal health officials to participate in this effort.

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11.jul.06

Meatingplace.com

John Gregerson

http://www.meatingplace.com/MembersOnly/webNews/details.aspx?item=16197

Canada said it may have found its seventh case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy in an Alberta cow born after 1997, when the country imposed feed restrictions to curb the spread of the disease.

Tests were being performed on tissue samples from the 50-month-old animal, a dairy cow, to confirm the presence of the disease, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency indicated Monday. No part of the animal entered the human or animal food or feed chain, CFIA said.

The cow died on a farm and was singled out for testing as part of an ongoing surveillance program for BSE. Preliminary tests for BSE failed to rule out the disease.

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11.jul.06

Ontario Farmer

Ian Cumming

Canada's sixth case of BSE, confirmed on July 4, is a 15 year old cross bred beef cow from Manitoba.

The animal was purchased in a lot of cattle in 1992, said a July 4 CFIA press release. Her advanced age will constrict the investigation since there will be, "few surviving animals and limited sources of information," said the press release.

A daughter of the cow, born in 2004, is being sought.

The fact that the cow was born well after the 1997 feed ban means, " it should not hold up," the publishing of the USDA rule to further open the border, says Rick McRonald from the Canadian Livestock Genetics Association.

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10.jul.06

Lloydminster Meridian Booster

John B. Spigott

Two new initiatives have been implemented to improve the quality of the BSE surveillance program in Canada.

The first change involves the refining of animal eligibility criteria to reflect changes in international guidelines for BSE surveillance. The most significant change in the criteria Alberta veterinarians look for when examining cattle considered for BSE testing is that those with a body score of '1' or less will no longer be eligible for sampling unless they show clinical signs of an abnormality. A system implemented by the World Animal Health Organization (OIE) has changed the focus from the number of cattle tested for BSE to the degree of risk the animals pose for BSE, according to Dr. Gerald Ollis, chief provincial veterinarian for Alberta.

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10.jul.06

Associated Press

OTTAWA -- The Canadian Food Inspection Agency is testing the remains of a dairy cow from Alberta suspected of having bovine spongiform encephalopathy, or mad cow disease. An initial set of tests failed to rule out the possibility the 4-year-old cow died of BSE.

The agency is testing other cattle born on the same farm, in the year before and the year after the affected animal, to help determine whether the infection originated on the farm.

Officials said no part of the infected carcass entered the human food or animal feed systems.

If confirmed, it would be the seventh case of mad cow disease in Canada.

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06.jul.06
Reuters
Maggie Fox

WASHINGTON - Tests in hamsters suggest it may be possible to develop a blood test for mad cow and related diseases in both humans and animals before they develop symptoms, researchers reported on Thursday.

The study, published in the journal Science, also suggests that the damaged brain cells may "leak" the infectious prions that cause the diseases, offering a chance to detect the disease in blood.

Such a test would allow animals to be checked before they enter the food supply. It could also screen people, including blood or organ donors, for the rare but devastating Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease or CJD, and its close cousin, vCJD, the researchers said.

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06.jul.06
todaysthv.com (Colorado)
Melissa Dunbar

The Government is trying to make it easier to trace the source of the meat you are eating. With recent outbreaks of diseases like Mad Cow, federal officials want all meat to be traceable to its sources within 48 hours.

Farmer Phil Wyrick, also the head of the state's Livestock and Poultry Commission, keeps 100 head of cattle in a field in Little Rock. All 100 would have to be chipped and their histories kept forever in a database accessible to the government.

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05.jul.06
CBC News

Final test results have confirmed a diagnosis of bovine spongiform encephalopathy in a cow from Manitoba, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency said Tuesday.

An agency investigation determined the owner of the animal, a mature, cross-bred beef cow, purchased it as part of a group in 1992.

That means the animal, which lived in the Interlake area, was at least 15 years old, so it was born well before 1997, when Canada imposed a ban on the type of feed associated with BSE.

Investigators are working to locate the animal's birth farm, which will help identify other herdmates that could have been exposed to the same feed.

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01.jul.06
National Post

Preliminary tests have potentially detected Manitoba's first case of mad cow, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency said yesterday. Samples of the dead animal, a mature cross-bred beef cow born well before the 1997 implementation of Canada's feed ban, have been sent to the National Centre for Foreign Animal Disease in Winnipeg for more tests. Final results are expected next week. Dr. George Luterbach, the CFIA's regional program manager for animal health, said the cow, found on a farm in Manitoba's Interlake region, was detected as part of an ongoing mad cow surveillance program. "It should not be a cause for concern. It's an unwelcome finding, but it's not an unexpected finding," said Luterbach, noting that the finding is the result of stepped up surveillance. If tests prove positive, the animal would mark the sixth time bovine spongiform encephalopathy or BSE, a brain wasting disease, has been found in Canadian cattle. Yesterday, officials were quick to reassure the public that no part of the animal's carcass entered the human food or animal feed systems. The CFIA is currently examining the animal's history. Earlier this week, the federal government announced it is beefing up its feed ban to accelerate the eradication of BSE from Canadian cattle.

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