Mad Cow Diease Investigation: USDA Quarantines Two Farms, Offspring Euthanized

FRESNO, Calif. -- Investigators looking into California's first case of mad cow disease say they have tracked down at least one of her offspring in another state.

Since there is no live test for the disease also known as bovine spongiform encephalopathy, it was euthanized and brain samples were sent to the national laboratory. The test was negative, officials said Wednesday.

The USDA announced April 24 that the nation's fourth case of mad cow disease was discovered in the 10-year-old cow. It had been euthanized at a Tulare County dairy a week earlier and sent to the Baker Commodities rendering plant near the Central California town of Hanford, where random testing happened to be taking place that day.

That dairy and another associated with it are under quarantine, which is standard procedure. The USDA has declined to name the dairies or the state where the offspring was found.

USDA officials also said on Wednesday that within the last two years, the diseased cow gave birth to a stillborn calf. They did not say how that carcass was disposed.

Officials also are investigating the calf ranch where the diseased cow was raised before she was sold into dairy productions. Investigators said they have been unable to locate for testing the cattle that were raised with the one who developed mad cow disease.

Mad cow disease is a deadly affliction of the central nervous system that can be transmitted to humans who eat meat from infected cows. The incubation period is two to eight years.

Cows can contract the disease by eating rendered remains from other sick cattle, which are processed into protein supplements. It's no longer legal to feed cattle to cattle, but rendered cattle are fed to chickens, and chicken droppings and spilled feed are rendered back into cattle feed.

The FDA and the California Department of Food and Agriculture have been examining feed records at the affected dairy and have identified at least 10 suppliers.

The USDA tests 40,000 of the approximately 35 million cattle slaughtered annually for BSE. Baker Commodities is a voluntary participant in the testing program.

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The history of mad cow in the U.S.:

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• December 2003: First U.S. Case Of Mad Cow Disease

  The <a href="http://articles.cnn.com/2003-12-23/us/mad.cow_1_mad-cow-disease-fatal-brain-wasting-disease-bse?_s=PM:US" target="_hplink">first confirmed case</a> of mad cow disease in the U.S. involved an animal from a farm in Mabton, Wash. The Holstein had been <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2004/01/03/us/way-to-track-us-cattle-isn-t-ready-for-quick-use.html" target="_hplink">imported in 2001 from Alberta, Canada</a>, along with 70 other cows. The animal was a "downer," which means it was unable to walk when it reached the slaughterhouse, a condition that mandates automatic testing from the USDA. Following the determination of mad cow, the processor, Vern's Moses Lake Meats, voluntarily recalled 10,410 pounds of raw beef amid concerns that products might be tainted. These cows, pictured at Sunny Dene Ranch in Mabton, were quarantined in the following months during an investigation.

• June 2005: Second Confirmed U.S. Case

  The second confirmed occurrence of the disease in the U.S. was linked to a farm in Texas, though it appears to be the country's first home-grown case. <em>The New York Times</em> reported that the animal was about 12 years old at the time of its death. It had spent the <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2005/06/30/national/30cow.html?" target="_hplink">entirety of its life</a> on the same Lone State ranch until it was taken to pet food plant Champion Pet Food, Inc. in Waco, Texas, where it died in November of 2004. The animal was a "downer" which pet food outfits often take since the USDA prohibits such cows for human consumption. Testing for disease is still mandatory, and meat from the animal did not enter the food supply, thanks to safeguards. <em>Photo by Flickr user <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/mdenhoedt/4627140451/sizes/z/in/photostream/" target="_hplink">MdenHoedt</a>.</em>

• March 2006: Third Confirmed U.S. Case

  A cow in Alabama was the third confirmed case of mad cow in the U.S. CBS reported that USDA head veterinarian John Clifford assured the public that meat from the animal <a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/2100-201_162-1396022.html" target="_hplink">had not entered the food supply for people or animals</a>. The animal was also a "downer," which led to it being euthanized and tested. <em> Photo by Flickr user <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/shan213/5293549136/sizes/l/in/photostream/" target="_hplink">Shan213</a>.</em>

• February 2012: First Reported Cases of Mad Cow In Humans Is False Alarm

  Earlier this year, <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/02/09/marin-mad-cow-disease_n_1266959.html" target="_hplink">two reported cases</a> of mad cow-related illness in Marin County, Calif., one fatal, turned out <a href="http://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/health/Mad-Cow-Didnt-Kill-Marin-Woman-Officials-139057459.html" target="_hplink">not to be linked</a> to the disease. The scare, however, leaves Americans shaken.

• April 2012: Fourth Confirmed U.S. Case

  The fourth confirmed case of the disease was <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/04/24/mad-cow-disease-california-usda_n_1449871.html?ref=food" target="_hplink">traced to a dairy cow</a> in central California.

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Comments

[j-flower]

03:34 PM on 05/07/2012

As I write this, the picture running with this story is not of dairy cattle ... beef cattle such as the black Angus pictured here are not associated with this case.

[MyResponsibility]

03:11 PM on 05/07/2012

Just how should Romney have pushed back? He said he didn't agree with the premise.  Why should Romney engage in a ridiculous debate with a lunatic?

[kelregan103]

08:38 AM on 05/07/2012

You have to wonder if this recent pet recall on the pet food is in anyway linked to putting any of these ground up meats in the pet food. I am so disgusted by our food chain in both our food and our pets. We all should demand to know what ingredients are put in our foods. Our goverment is failing us on all these matters. Where's the accountability? Its more important to make the money and profits and look the other way than making sure the food chain is not going to sicken or kill us. What is the FDA doing and why should the American people give them a salary for not doing their jobs. We depend on inspectors to keep on top of these plants and know what is being done. Why are we always having recalls now more than any other times in our history. Do you think that this administration could hire people to do this job instead of the czars that are going to decide what medical treatment we will all get? Heck, we won't need them if our food is going to kill us first. This whole administration is letting the American people down in more and more ways. Time to go and get this country on the right track.

[VitoIncognito]

02:57 PM on 05/05/2012

That stillborn calf was probably ground up and served to other cows and chickens along with their feed. Disgusting.

[kcrom]

10:35 AM on 05/05/2012

I am Vegetarian, but I will not serve my husband any beef.

[vitin6039]

10:54 PM on 05/04/2012

It is not a secret that confinement and overcrowding of animals results in a lack of exercise weakens their bones and muscles. Just the perfect conditions for viral mutation and transmission, we keep hearing the same song over and over.

[SimonBao]

04:42 PM on 05/05/2012

Sorry, but your speculation about the disease is entirely wrong. And it's not a matter of opinion, you're simply factually incorrect, entirely incorrect.

The disease is not caused by a virus, and "viral mutation" plays absolutely no role in any part of the disease.

The disease is caused by a prion, which is as unlike a virus as you are unlike a virus.

And prions can and do form within living tissue entirely on their own.

There's also no connection of any kind between confinement, overcrowding, and any weakening of bones and muscles, and the disease. NO connection.

In future you should at least consult a good Wikipedia article before posting stuff that's entirely false.

[please stop]

07:59 PM on 05/05/2012

it really doesn't matter what causes the disease - what matters is how the problem is corrected. it seems as though the fact that no one knows where the stillborn calf ended up is disconcerting. the fact that the meat from this calf could be put in other animal food is the problem - not knowing the Wikipedia's definition of mad cow disease.

[getoffmedz]

07:04 PM on 05/04/2012

Not to worry.

You won't know you have it for 2 to 8 years.

[blackwind]

01:58 AM on 05/06/2012

And by then you'll be so brain damaged that you still won't know it.

[getoffmedz]

10:32 AM on 05/06/2012

A information lid is being kept tight on this?

[thrugreeneyez]

04:33 PM on 05/04/2012

"Investigators said they have been unable to locate for testing the cattle that were raised with the one who developed mad cow disease." If you still eat meat after knowing this, you are gambling with your life. Go vegan!

[thrugreeneyez]

04:32 PM on 05/04/2012

Cow blood is still in the milk substitute given to calves. Sick! Go vegan!

[hairydodger]

06:35 PM on 05/04/2012

Are you kidding? I dream of a two inch steak that hangs over the edges of the plate. The odds of catching Mad Cow Disease are around six billion to one. You'll be struck by lightening three times in one week first.

[lick my feet]

09:24 PM on 05/04/2012

please eat lots of california beef.

[kcrom]

10:38 AM on 05/05/2012

I know of two people that died of Mad Cow. It is a horrible death.

[msperry1123]

03:25 PM on 05/04/2012

"The USDA has declined to name the dairies or the state where the offspring was found"
What the heck? The public will be kept in the dark, even though the public is at risk?

[Conspiracy2Riot]

06:25 PM on 05/06/2012

right...and so far no leaks on the dairy or location.

protect commerce at all costs. ALL costs.

the USDA is nothing but a protector of industry.

[Mr Hoodoo]

01:52 PM on 05/04/2012

"I've got...*twirls finger next to ear*...ya know...

Denny Crane!"

[howlar2]

01:06 PM on 05/04/2012

Isn't that an indication for Premarin?

[howlar2]

01:05 PM on 05/04/2012

I thought it was outlawed to use animal nerve tissue in animal feed.

[VitoIncognito]

02:58 PM on 05/05/2012

That doesn't mean they don't do it.

[Pferdefreund]

12:45 PM on 05/04/2012

Mad cow desease is transfered to humans and is always fatal.The most important part of this article is: The USDA inspects 40,000.00 cattle and over 35 Million get slaughtered. The odds of Mad cow desease is too staggering to consider red meat consumption. This is a very serious problem and it should be treated as such - that means inspection on every animal slaughtered.

[Jlyons5]

01:16 PM on 05/04/2012

Every anImal gets an antemortem and postmortem inspection. Animals that are suspect get tested. This was a downer cow, therefore she was a "suspect" animal and got tested.

[Pferdefreund]

03:17 PM on 05/04/2012

Really, does that solve the mad cow desease problem - if we wait till they show signs it is too late. Just ask the rest of the world, especially England.I had friends who died from that.

[JHKH]

07:31 PM on 05/04/2012

The story that was put out a few days after the original revelation was that the discovery was a fortunate happenstance. The inspectors were coincidentally at the rendering plant. As a downer, the cow should have been tested as a matter of course. Which version of the deceased cow getting tested do you choose to believe?

[mlaiuppa]

12:23 PM on 05/04/2012

Within the last two year she had a stillborn calf. She also could have had the disease actively by then. Now what happened to that calf? Was that carcass put into the feed supply? There's your point of contamination. Since there is no live test for it and since very few dead cows are tested and since the U.S. uses both blood and carcasses in feed supply, contamination is happening. Just not detected yet. I don't care what the USDA says. Until we stop weaning calves with blood and stop using dead animals as feed for other animals, especially if those dead animals have NOT been testing, contamination is just a tragedy waiting to happen.

I don't blame other countries for refusing to buy U.S. beef. I only buy local, pastured, humanely raised beef. Which means my consumption is way, way down from what it used to be. Same for pork and chicken. I'll buy lamb from New Zealand on the rare occasions I eat it. Wild caught fish from the pacific (no farm raised). But mostly I'm eating a LOT more legumes and vegetables. I'm getting ready to convert my entire front yard into a garden as I've outgrown the patch I have in the back.

[Jlyons5]

12:49 PM on 05/04/2012

Animal byproducts are illegal to feed to food animals in the US. They have been for years. Weaning calves with blood?? Where are you getting your information?

[mlaiuppa]

02:26 PM on 05/04/2012

Animal byproducts fed to cows was outlawed in 1997 but an exemption was made for blood. Blood from slaughterhouses is used in a formula to feed dairy calves since the industry wants all their milk to sell.

And that law only outlawed feeding cows to cows. Chickens and pigs aren't part of it. Nor are dogs.

Who knows what is contaminating our food supply in the name of greed and profit.

[MeinNH]

02:35 PM on 05/04/2012

This is happening in the US....I read about it just this week.

[Conspiracy2Riot]

06:31 PM on 05/06/2012

good for you for the lawn to garden conversion! i did this back in 09 and now have a garden wrapping around 3 sides of my home. put up a greenhouse too and i can grow year round. learned to save my own seeds by using heirlooms, no transgenic or hybrids.

if i can recommend an outstanding seed site, check out baker creed seeds at heirloomseeds.com

seed savers is another great site, but baker creek only charges 2.00 to ship regular sized seed packets, no matter how many you order.

good luck!