[Animals] Extremely rare case of mad cow disease detected in the US

[BirSaNN]

It is only the seventh case of the deadly disease reported in the U.S. since it first emerged in the country in 2003.

A rare case of mad cow disease, also known as bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), has been detected at a slaughter plant in South Carolina but poses no threat to humans or other cattle. It is only the seventh confirmed case of the extremely deadly disease ever recorded in the U.S. 

Officials from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced the discovery in a statement released May 19. A 5-year-old beef cow belonging to a herd from Tennessee tested positive for BSE after being deemed unfit for slaughter and undergoing routine testing.

"This animal never entered slaughter channels and at no time presented a risk to the food supply or to human health in the United States," USDA representatives wrote in the statement. An investigation into the exact cause of the infection is ongoing, but it is likely an isolated case, they added.

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BSE is a progressive neurological disorder of cattle caused by proteins called prions; prions are found on the surface of cells, but in diseases like mad cow, these proteins fold abnormally and can cause other, healthy prions to do the same. In BSE, the prions affect proteins in the brain and central nervous system, causing a range of symptoms, including behavioral changes, coordination problems, weight loss, decreased milk production and eventually, death, according to the USDA.

There are two forms of BSE: classical BSE, which develops when a cow ingests infected material, such as meat or bone meal, made from an infected cow in their feed; and atypical BSE, which develops spontaneously in older cattle. The recently diagnosed cow had atypical BSE, which poses less of a concern for animal welfare officials. 

link: https://www.livescience.com/animals/land-mammals/extremely-rare-case-of-mad-cow-disease-detected-in-the-us