Yes. The U.S Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced December 23, 2003 that BSE had been diagnosed in a Washington state dairy cow. DNA testing confirmed the 6 ½ year old cow, which investigators refer to as the index cow, was born in Canada and imported to the United States in 2001.

Q: What is BSE?

BSE is a degenerated neurological disease in cattle that scientists believe is caused by misfolded proteins, called prions, which build up in central nervous system (SNS) tissues eventually killing nerve cells. Scientists do not know what factors trigger this conversion. Some believe an abnormal protein itself causes the conversion, while others believe a virus-like entity may be involved. Most scientists agree that the accumulation of abnormal proteins in brain cells results in altered function and eventual death of cells. The scientific name of the disease is Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy. The media commonly refer to the disease as "mad cow disease"

Q: How is BSE spread among cattle?

BSE does not spread from animal to animal, only through feed containing ruminant-derived meat and bone meal (MBM) from BSE-infected cattle. The use of ruminant-derived MBM as a protein supplement in cattle feed was banned in the United States in 1997.

Q: Can humans get mad cow disease?

Research from the United Kingdom supports an association between BSE and variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (vCJBD), in that vCJD likely developed as a result of people consuming products contaminated with central nervous system tissue of BSE-infected cattle. Studies report that in naturally infected cattle the BSE agent has only been found in CNS tissue, such as brain and spinal cord as we well as retina tissue.

All vCJD victims to date have had a specific genetic make-up that may make them vulnerable to this disease. About 40 percent of the population has this genetic make-up. Research continues to determine the role genetics may play in this disease.

Q: What is the difference between BSE, sporadic CJD and vCJD?

BSE, sporadic CJD and vCJD are all Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathies (TSEs), which are a class of rare brain diseases, some of which affect humans while others affect animals. All TSEs are associated with the accumulation of abnormal prion proteins in the brain.

While BSE is found only in cattle, sporadic CJD and vCJD are found in humans. Sporadic CJD and vCJD are distinctly separate brain diseases, each with its own unique clinical and histopathological characteristics.

Sporadic CJD was first identified in the 1920s and has a worldwide incidence of approximately one case per million people each year.
Variant CJD was first documented in the United Kingdom in 1996 and, as of January 2004, the number of definite and probable cases is 155 people. No indigenous cases of many unknowns about vCJD, including method and amount of exposure, route of transmission and incubation period. Significant steps have been taken in the United States to prevent exposure to the disease.

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Safeguards continued

Continued from reverse side

• In 1990 the United States became the first country without BSE within its borders to test cattle for the disease. The BSE surveillance program has mandated that all cattle with any signs of neurological disorder be tested for BSE and banned from the human food chain. Since 1990, meat from cattle showing signs of neurological disorder has not been processed for human consumption.
  
• BSE affects older cattle, typically over 30 months of age. The vast majority of the cattle going to market in the United States are less than 24 months old and would not pose a risk of BSE. Even in European countries where BSE is at epidemic levels, of the 1.6 million cattle less than 30 months of age tested there in 2002, there were no positive cases.
  
• In 1997, the United States banned the feeding practices that scientists believe spread this disease. The United States was the first country without BSE within its borders to implement a feed ban.
  
• The system to detect and eliminate BSE in the United States is effective. The cow in question was quickly identified, the farm of origin was located and quarantine, and products from this animal were identified and traced. The 2001 Harvard University Center for Risk Assessment report said "measures taken by the U.S. government and industry make the United States robust against the spread of BSE to animals or humans should it be introduced into this country.

Q: Are additional precautions being taken to protect the beef supply?

Yes. On December 30, 2003, USDA announced additional measures to ensure that U.S. beef remains the safest in the world. USDA has taken these measures out of an "abundance of caution." New measures include:



• USDA has banned all non-ambulatory cattle from the human food chain.
  
  
• Any cattle tested for BSE are not allowed into the food supply until tests show that it is safe.
  
  
• Specified Risk Material (SRM) from cattle over 30 months of age will be banned from entering the human food supply. The list of SRMs will be consistent with the SRMs specified by Canada following discovery of its first domestic case of BSE in May 2003.
  
  
• The rules for Advanced Meat Recovery will be broadened to further ensure that potentially infective nerve tissue will not be present in human food

Q: What is the beef industry doing to protect the beef supply?

The U.S. beef industry has achieved 99.9 percent compliance with the 1997 FDA ban on the use of ruminant-derived meat and bone meal in cattle feeds. The beef industry has educated beef producers and industry organizations about recent USDA actions to implement additional precautionary measures. The beef industry also carries out check off-funded producer education regarding BASE and animal health. In addition, check off-funded research focuses on BSE, including determining susceptibility of cattle to BSE and ways to inactivate prions.

Q: Why doesn't the United States test every animal as is done in other countries?

Since the late 1980's, USDA has had a plan to detect BSE if it should occur in the United Sates. The level of testing far exceeds that level recommended by tee intentional standards for a minimal risk country. Some European countries, as well as Japan, have instituted extreme testing programs because their countries face a BSE epidemic. Unlike the United States, these countries did not put preventive measures in place and did not begin formal BSE surveillance until late in 2000. Again, the U.S. system is designed to detect BSE even if it is only occurring in one in a million cattle. To improve testing, USDA divided the country into eight regions and treats each region as though it were a country with a goal of exceeding international testing requirements for each region.

Organic
Q: Is organic beef safer than conventionally produced food?

• No. Science does not show that organic beef is safer than conventionally produced beef.
  
  
• Research shows that BSE is not found in beef muscle cuts or milk, so all U.S. beef-organic or conventionally produced-is safe and wholesome. Since BSE is spread through BSE-contaminated feed, the 1997 feed ban implemented by the FDA protects both the U.S. conventionally and organic beef supply.
  · According to USDA, organically produced food is no safer or more nutritious than conventionally produced food. Organic food differs from conventionally produced food in the way it is grown, handled, and processed according to USDA. Beef, regardless of type, is on of the most heavily regulated and stringently tested of all foods. This conclusion is consistent with that of other organizations such as the American Dietetic Association and the American Council on Science and Health.
  
  
• Consumers have a variety of products to choose from including conventional (or natural), grass-fed, and organic beef. These types of products are defined by a marketing distinction, not a nutritional or safety difference.

For accurate and up-to-date information on BSE, please visit www.bseinfo.org and http://www.aphis.usda.gov/lpa/issues/bse/bse.html