What is "Mad Cow Disease" (Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy)?
Mad Cow Disease is the layperson's name for Bovine Spongiform
Encephalopathy (BSE), a transmissible, slowly progressive, degenerative, fatal
disease affecting the central nervous system of adult cattle. There is no
evidence to date of BSE affecting U.S. cattle, * despite
an aggressive surveillance program under which nearly 20,000 animals were
tested last year.
No meat products from ruminant animals from the 33 countries identified as
having BSE or at risk for having BSE are allowed in the U.S. This includes
meat products used in human, animal, and pet foods. Milk
and milk products continue to be imported into the U.S. from these countries
because milk and milk products are not believed to pose any risk for
transmitting BSE to humans. Experiments have shown that milk from BSE-infected
cows has not caused infections in the same species or in other test animals.
set the record straight macduck
Woody
See IRG research reports
