U.S. gets its first case of mad cow disease

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Patrick M
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U.S. gets its first case of mad cow disease

Postby Patrick M » Wed Dec 24, 2003 1:56 am

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2& ... &printer=1

[Emphasis mine.]

First U.S. Mad Cow Case, Buyers Ban Beef Imports

By Randy Fabi

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The first U.S. case of the deadly mad cow disease, which devastated parts of the European agriculture industry in the 1990s, was found in a dairy cow and overseas buyers immediately shut their doors on Wednesday to American hamburgers and steaks.

Discovery of the brain-wasting disease in Washington state threatened the $27 billion U.S. cattle industry, pressured share prices of fast-food companies and raised consumer concerns about food safety -- especially as an official said meat from the cow may have been eaten as hamburgers.

"A single Holstein cow from Washington state was tested as presumptive positive for BSE or what is widely known as mad cow disease," Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman said.

Japan, South Korea and Singapore immediately halted imports of American beef, a move likely to be followed by other major U.S. customers. Shares of fast-food companies like McDonald's Corp. dropped, and analysts in Chicago predicted beef and grain prices would fall sharply when trading begins on Wednesday.

Mad cow disease, also known as bovine spongiform encephalopathy, has never been found in the United States before. Scientists believe humans can be infected by eating meat contaminated with diseased brain or spinal column material. BSE is not found in meat like steaks and roasts.

Veneman urged American consumers not to panic.

"I plan to serve beef for my Christmas dinner," she said. "The risk to human health from BSE is extremely low."

The animal's brain and nervous system tissue -- material considered at high risk for conveying BSE -- did not enter the human food chain, Veneman said. That material was sent to a rendering plant to be made into pet food or for other uses.

Still, a Washington State official said other meat from the diseased cow may have already been consumed, possibly in the form of hamburger.

An outbreak of BSE in Europe more than a decade ago resulted in 137 human deaths, mostly in Britain. British farmers destroyed some 3.7 million cattle because of the outbreak.

FOCUS ON FOOD SUPPLY

A sample from the U.S. diseased "downer" cow -- one that is too sick to walk -- was obtained on Dec. 9 and tested positive, Veneman said. A tissue sample was flown by U.S. military jet to an animal laboratory in England for additional confirmation. Those results will not be ready for three to five days.

The farm where the dairy cow was found near Mabton, Washington, was quarantined and officials were checking with other processing plants where parts of the animal were sent.

Investigators scrambled to detect how the cow was infected and were expected to focus on the animal's food supply. Mad cow disease has been spread to other cattle when an infected animal was ground up for livestock feed.

"I think it's very important to recognize that this disease does not spread easily," Veneman said.

In 1997, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, which regulates livestock feed, banned feeding cattle remains to other livestock. The FDA said in July its test results showed 13 U.S. animal feed plants out of a total 1,555 had feed that contained some of the banned material. One of the plants that sold adulterated feed was based in Tacoma, Washington.

Jan Busboom, a professor of meat science at Washington State University, said dairy cows typically have detailed records of what they were fed.

The agriculture department could announce as early as Wednesday a beef recall that covers the three processing plants that handled the infected cow -- Midway Meats, Interstate Meat and Willamette Meat, a department source said.

"IT'S A BIG DEAL"

Although the impact remains unclear, the U.S. cattle industry has long feared an outbreak of the disease, which could result in vast financial losses. U.S. beef exports totaled $3.2 billion last year.

"It is a big deal," said Joe Kropf, livestock analyst with Kropf and Love Consulting. "Consumers cut back on consumption and countries, for safety reasons, embargo beef from affected countries."

Canada in May reported its first mad cow case, which has since cost its industry billions of dollars. Some countries, such as Japan, still ban Canadian beef.

Canadian investigators were never able to pinpoint the cause of the disease in a single Black Angus cow in Alberta. Canada's chief veterinary official said there was no evidence that the infected Holstein in Washington state was linked to a Canadian animal.

The dairy cow diagnosed with the disease was a "downer" animal, meaning it was too sick to walk. The U.S. Senate last month approved language that would ban downer cattle, pigs and goats from being used in the human food supply, but the measure was dropped from a final bill because of House opposition.

(Additional reporting by Richard Cowan in Washington and Gilbert Le Gras in Ottawa)

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Rspaight
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Postby Rspaight » Wed Dec 24, 2003 9:17 am

This is gonna be a hoot to watch. Wonder how Oprah will react?

Ryan
RQOTW: "I'll make sure that our future is defined not by the letters ACLU, but by the letters USA." -- Mitt Romney