January 1998
For additional information on BSE contact Ann Soli at 202/347-0228 or [email protected]
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U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) surveillance data show that the United States does not have BSE and government and industry prevention programs work to assure that BSE will not become a problem in this country.
The U.S. has not imported beef from the United Kingdom since at least 1985, nearly two years before the first case of BSE was identified in Britain.
USDA carries out a comprehensive, targeted surveillance program for BSE. More than 60 veterinary diagnostic laboratories throughout the U.S. participate in the surveillance program along with the National Veterinary Services Laboratory in Ames, Iowa.
In recent years the USDA surveillance program has evaluated more than 6,500 brain specimens from cattle displaying any signs which might indicate BSE. To date, no cases of BSE or any similar disease have been found in U.S. cattle.
The USDA Food Safety Inspection Service conducts antemortem inspections at slaughter facilities and prevents any animals with possible central nervous system disorders from entering the human food chain. Studies of naturally infected cattle show that the BSE infectious agent is found in brain, spinal cord and corneal (eye) tissue but not in meat or milk.
The USDA implemented a ban in 1989 on the importation of live ruminant animals and ruminant products from countries with confirmed cases of BSE. In December 1997, USDA expanded the import ban to include imports of all cattle and sheep, and many ruminant products from Europe until the risk of spreading mad cow disease to this country is fully examined.
In April 1996, the National Cattlemen's Beef Association called for a voluntary ban on the use in cattle feed rations of protein supplements derived from ruminant sources. NCBA also requested the FDA to analyze the scientific data and develop regulations on use of such protein by-products. The use of such nutrient supplements in England was identified as a risk factor that could spread BSE if it were present in cattle.
An FDA ban on feeding most mammal-derived protein by-products to cattle became effective August 4, 1997 for bulk feeds and October 3, 1997 for bagged feeds.
BSE has no relationship or link to a human neurological disorder called Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (CJD). CJD was first diagnosed as a human illness in the 1920s and statistics show it affects one person per million population annually worldwide. According to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the incidence of CJD in the U.S. is consistent with the global rate of occurrence.
A new human neurological disorder, which has been called new variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (nvCJD), was first documented in England in 1995. This is a completely different disease from classic CJD. Recent research has shown that the infectious agent which causes BSE in cattle also causes nvCJD and that there is a risk, although extremely low, that the BSE infectious agent can be transmitted to humans. According to the CDC, there have been no cases of nvCJD in the U.S. To date, there have been 22 documented cases of nvCJD in the U.K. and one in France.
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