Mad cow disease discovered in California

The US government went to great pains to stress that everything was under
control.

“Evidence shows that our systems and safeguards to prevent BSE are working, as
are similar actions taken by countries around the world.”

According to the US Meat Export Federation, beef brings more than $353 million
into the United States, with Mexico, Canada, South Korea and Japan among the
main export markets.

The United States has an estimated 90.8 million head of cattle, forming a
large chunk of the economy in states like Texas, Nebraska, Kansas and
California.

Around 40,000 US cattle are tested by the Department of Agriculture each year.

Samples from infected animal were sent to a laboratory in Ames, Iowa, where
they proved positive for a rare form of the disease. The results are now
being shared with labs in Britain and Canada.

“The US Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
has confirmed the nation’s fourth case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy
in a dairy cow from central California,” the government statement said.

“USDA remains confident in the health of the national herd and the safety of
beef and dairy products. As the epidemiological investigation progresses,
USDA will continue to communicate findings in a timely and transparent
manner.”

On the Chicago Mercantile Exchange the price of cattle futures fell on rumors
of the news.

The biggest fear for US farmers will now be for sanctions on US beef, a
possibility the Department of Agriculture tacitly addressed, and refuted.

“This detection should not affect US trade,” they said.

More than 190,000 cases of mad cow disease have been detected in the EU since
it was first diagnosed in Britain in 1986, forcing the destruction of
millions of cows.

More than 200 people around the world are suspected to have died, most of them
in Britain, from the human variant of the disease, which was first described
in 1996.

Scientists believe the disease was caused by using infected parts of cattle to
make feed for other cattle.

Authorities believe eating meat from infected animals can trigger the human
variant of the fatal brain-wasting disease.

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