Traces of mad cow disease were discovered in Alabama.
Here are seven things you should know:
- An atypical form of bovine spongiform encephalopothy (BSE) was confirmed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture in Alabama.
- Also known as the mad cow disease, the illness was found in an 11-year-old beef cow, which is not expected to cause any issues as the animal never came into the slaughterhouse and “at no time presented a risk to food supply or to human health,” the agency said.
- The Alabama Department of Agriculture and Industries said the sick cow was discovered during a routine surveillance at an Alabama livestock market.
- The animal died at the market before it was able to enter the slaughter channels, and its DNA was sent to a USDA lab in Iowa to confirm the illness.
- The case of mad cow was detected thanks to the surveillance testing programs that were implemented in 2009 to protect animal and human health.
- The illness happens when cows eat products that contain brain or spinal tissue from other bovine animals, which led to the USDA banning protein supplements in cattle in 1997.
- The atypical form of mad cow disease usually happens in older cattle, usually eight years old or older. “It seems to arise rarely and spontaneously in all cattle populations,” the USDA said.
