June 30, 2005

 

US BSE cow source pinpointed
 

 

The source herd of the recent BSE cow in US has been identified, USDA announced Jun 29.

 

Based on information from its owner, the brahma-cross cow was found to have been born and raised in a herd in a Texan ranch and was approximately 12 years old.

 

The source herd is now under a hold order as USDA identifies other possible BSE cases.

 

Animals to be tested include those born on the same year as the BSE cow, as well as the year before or after. Offspring of the infected cow born within the last two years would also be checked.

 

USDA said that it may expand its inquiry to include all animals in this herd before the feed ban went into place in 1997, if the exact age of the cow could not be pinpointed.

 

Chief Veterinarian of USDA, Dr John Clifford, said, "Experience worldwide has shown us that it is highly unusual to find BSE in more than one animal in a herd or in an affected animal's offspring. Nevertheless, all animals of interest will be tested for BSE."

 

USDA is also working with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to determine the feed history of this herd.

 

Given the animal's age, it believes the cow was most likely infected by consuming ruminant-to-ruminant feed, prior to the implementation of the feed ban in 1997. Animals with BSE are likely to have eaten contaminated feed at a very young age.

 

The BSE cow, however, did not enter either the human food or animal feed chain.

 

The plant at which this animal was sampled is a 3D/4D pet food plant, also in Texas, that does not handle animals for human consumption. In this case, infected meat from the animal has also not gone into the production of pet food.

 

After the first few tests in November last year, the animal remains were incinerated "because of inconclusive results", said Dr Clifford.

 

"Based on those inconclusive results, we not only incinerated this animal; we incinerated the entire group of all five animals," he added.

 

Currently, the USDA bans non-ambulatory cattle from the food supply, animal parts that could carry BSE from the food supply, and also slaughter techniques that could introduce BSE into the food supply.

 

"These safeguards ensure that American beef is among the safest in the world," Dr. Clifford said, 'The safety of our food supply is not in question."

 

FDA would also be looking at compliance records of feed firms that may have processed meat and bonemeal from the cohorts in question.

 

According to the FDA's Centre for Veterinary Medicine Director, Dr. Stephen Sundlof, these checks will determine whether or not the firms' records show compliance with feed regulations put in place since 1997.