Post by JoannaL on May 25, 2023 23:14:29 GMT -5
Mad Cow Disease Detected in South Carolina
USDA (U.S. Department of Agriculture) officials have detected an atypical case of BSE (bovine spongiform encephalopathy) – mad cow disease – at a slaughter facility in South Carolina. In a statement, a spokesperson confirmed the animal “never entered slaughter channels and at no time presented a risk to the food supply or to human health in the United States.”
The animal was infected with Atypical BSE L-type, which is believed to occur sporadically in cattle. The classic form, first detected in the United Kingdom in 1986, is spread when farmers feed their herds with the meat and bone meal of infected animals. The latter form poses a much greater threat to humans.
Previous BSE cases in the U.S., Canada, Israel, Europe and Japan have resulted in disruptions in the global food trade costing billions of dollars. However, the agency is confident the recent finding “will not change the negligible risk status of the United States, and should not lead to any trade issues.”
The infected animal, which was around 5-years-old, was transported to the South Carolina slaughterhouse from Tennessee, and a USDA spokesperson confirmed it was euthanized “shortly after arriving at the facility.”
According to the agency, this is the first confirmed case of mad cow disease in South Carolina and the 7th in the United States. The other six cases documented in the U.S. include one each in California, Florida, Texas and Washington, and two in Alabama.
Cattle infected with BSE display changes in temperament such as nervousness or aggression, abnormal posture, lack of coordination, difficulty rising to their feet and loss of appetite.
BSE is a progressive neurological disorder and according to the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention), infected humans exhibit walking difficulties, lack of coordination, slurred speech, numbness or a feeling of pins-and-needles in different parts of the body, dizziness, vision problems and hallucinations. Those in which the disease is advanced may experience muscle twitches and spasms, loss of bladder and bowel control, blindness, difficulty swallowing, loss of speech and loss of voluntary movement.
Sources: ScienceAlert, May 22, 2023; Debbie Lord, Cox Media, May 22, 2023; Ted Clifford, The State, May 20, 2023, and The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
