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| Mad cow disease found in dairy animal in California | Mad cow disease found in dairy animal in California |
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| The first new case of mad cow disease in the US since 2006 has been discovered in a dairy cow in California, but health authorities say the animal posed no threat to America's food supply. | The first new case of mad cow disease in the US since 2006 has been discovered in a dairy cow in California, but health authorities say the animal posed no threat to America's food supply. |
| The infected cow, the fourth ever discovered in the US, was found as part of an agriculture department surveillance programme that tests about 40,000 cows a year for the fatal brain disease. | The infected cow, the fourth ever discovered in the US, was found as part of an agriculture department surveillance programme that tests about 40,000 cows a year for the fatal brain disease. |
| No meat from the cow was bound for the food supply, said John Clifford, the department's chief veterinary officer. "There is really no cause for alarm here with regard to this animal," Clifford told reporters. | No meat from the cow was bound for the food supply, said John Clifford, the department's chief veterinary officer. "There is really no cause for alarm here with regard to this animal," Clifford told reporters. |
| Mad cow disease, or bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), is fatal to cows and can cause a fatal brain disease in people who eat tainted beef. The World Health Organisation has said tests show humans cannot be infected by drinking milk from BSE-infected animals. | Mad cow disease, or bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), is fatal to cows and can cause a fatal brain disease in people who eat tainted beef. The World Health Organisation has said tests show humans cannot be infected by drinking milk from BSE-infected animals. |
| After an outbreak in Britain that peaked in 1993, the US intensified precautions to keep BSE out of US cattle and the food supply. In other countries, the spread of the infection was blamed on farmers adding recycled meat and bone meal from infected cows into cattle feed, so a key US step has been to ban feed containing such material. | After an outbreak in Britain that peaked in 1993, the US intensified precautions to keep BSE out of US cattle and the food supply. In other countries, the spread of the infection was blamed on farmers adding recycled meat and bone meal from infected cows into cattle feed, so a key US step has been to ban feed containing such material. |
| Clifford said the California cow was an atypical case of BSE, meaning that it had not got the disease from eating infected cattle feed. | Clifford said the California cow was an atypical case of BSE, meaning that it had not got the disease from eating infected cattle feed. |
| That suggested the case was "just a random mutation that can happen every once in a great while in an animal", said Bruce Akey, director of the New York State Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory at Cornell University. "Random mutations go on in nature all the time." | That suggested the case was "just a random mutation that can happen every once in a great while in an animal", said Bruce Akey, director of the New York State Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory at Cornell University. "Random mutations go on in nature all the time." |
| Questions remain about how the cow died, and whether the incident will prompt the agriculture department to change how it tests for the disease. But Mike Doyle, director of the University of Georgia's Centre for Food Safety, said the testing system worked because it had caught what was a very rare event. "It's good news because they caught it," Doyle said. | Questions remain about how the cow died, and whether the incident will prompt the agriculture department to change how it tests for the disease. But Mike Doyle, director of the University of Georgia's Centre for Food Safety, said the testing system worked because it had caught what was a very rare event. "It's good news because they caught it," Doyle said. |
| Clifford did not say when the disease had been discovered or where the cow had been reared. He said the cow had been at a rendering plant in central California when the case was discovered through regular sample testing. | Clifford did not say when the disease had been discovered or where the cow had been reared. He said the cow had been at a rendering plant in central California when the case was discovered through regular sample testing. |
| Dennis Luckey, executive vice-president of Baker Commodities, said the disease had been discovered at its Hanford, California transfer station when the company selected the cow for random sampling. | Dennis Luckey, executive vice-president of Baker Commodities, said the disease had been discovered at its Hanford, California transfer station when the company selected the cow for random sampling. |
| Luckey said the cow had died at the dairy and been randomly tagged for the surveillance programme. | Luckey said the cow had died at the dairy and been randomly tagged for the surveillance programme. |
| Michael Marsh, chief executive of Western United Dairymen, said the cow was an adult animal over 30 months old, and had appeared normal when it was last observed. He said the cow was first tested on 18 April. | Michael Marsh, chief executive of Western United Dairymen, said the cow was an adult animal over 30 months old, and had appeared normal when it was last observed. He said the cow was first tested on 18 April. |
| Rendering plants process animal parts for products not going into the human food chain, such as animal food, soap, chemicals and other household products. | Rendering plants process animal parts for products not going into the human food chain, such as animal food, soap, chemicals and other household products. |
| There have been three confirmed cases of BSE in cows in the US: in a Canadian-born cow in 2003 in Washington state, in 2005 in Texas, and in 2006 in Alabama. The 2005 and 2006 cases were also atypical varieties of the disease, agriculture department officials said. | There have been three confirmed cases of BSE in cows in the US: in a Canadian-born cow in 2003 in Washington state, in 2005 in Texas, and in 2006 in Alabama. The 2005 and 2006 cases were also atypical varieties of the disease, agriculture department officials said. |
| The department was sharing its lab results with international animal health officials in Canada and England who would review the test results, Clifford said. | The department was sharing its lab results with international animal health officials in Canada and England who would review the test results, Clifford said. |
| Past scares about mad cow disease have affected beef exports to Japan and other countries. Japan banned all US beef imports in 2003 after the first case of mad cow disease was discovered in the US. Japan resumed buying American beef in 2006 after a bilateral trade agreement setting new safety standards. | Past scares about mad cow disease have affected beef exports to Japan and other countries. Japan banned all US beef imports in 2003 after the first case of mad cow disease was discovered in the US. Japan resumed buying American beef in 2006 after a bilateral trade agreement setting new safety standards. |
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