“Atypical” mad cow disease detected in Alabama

Enlarge / Cows. (credit: Getty | KARL-JOSEF HILDENBRAND)

An 11-year-old cow in Alabama tested positive for an "atypical" strain of the prion disease Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE), also known as mad cow disease, according to the US Department of Agriculture.

The cow tested positive for the strain, called L-type BSE, during routine surveillance at a livestock market where the animal had started exhibiting clinical signs. The USDA stressed that the case posed no health threat and would not change the country's international risk status, and thus it would not cause any beef trade issues.

"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," the USDA said in a statement.

Read 7 remaining paragraphs | Comments