BSE Confirmation in Florida Considered Atypical, Not Worrisome

According to the USDA, a recent case of BSE will have no impact on the United States as a BSE free nation.  USDA said the case of Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy is considered atypical, not classical, which is the much more worrisome form of BSE.  The disease was discovered on a six-year-old mixed-breed beef cow in Florida and was tested by a lab at Colorado State University.  This is was all part of routine surveillance of cattle that are deemed unsuitable for slaughter.

BSE is not contagious and exists in two types - classical and atypical. Classical BSE is the form that has been linked to disease in people. Atypical BSE is different, and it generally occurs in older cattle, usually eight years of age or greater. It seems to arise rarely and spontaneously in all cattle populations, according to USDA.

This is the nation’s 6th detection of BSE. A case of BSE was reported in Central Washington in 2003.

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