ARVADA, March 22 - Europe's most famous animal disease is back in the news lately. From the pages of USA Today to network news programs, the press is putting Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE), commonly known as "mad cow disease," on the public radar screen. A recent outbreak of food-and-mouth disease (FMD) has added insult to injury for the already beleaguered Europeans. All of the coverage about BSE and FMD, it seems, really boils down to one basic question: Could they happen here?

Neither BSE nor a human disease linked to BSE, new variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease, has ever been found in the U.S. Foot-and-mouth disease has not been seen in the U.S. since 1929. America's cattle producers B and our government partners B are working hard to keep it that way.

Because both FMD and BSE are front-page news right now, it can be easy to confuse the two diseases. BSE is a degenerative disease affecting the central nervous system of cattle. Current data suggests that BSE is spread through common-source feed containing contaminated meat and bone meal as a protein source. In the unlikely event that BSE was found in the U.S., it could be quickly contained. In contrast, foot and mouth disease is caused by a highly-contagious virus which spreads easily among cloven-hooved animals like cattle, swine, sheep, goats and deer, but the disease poses no health threat to humans.

It is important to note the differences between Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (CJD) and new variant CJD. The human disease known as classic CJD is a rare disease that occurs in an average of one person per million, per year, worldwide. It was first identified in the 1920s.

CJD should not be confused with new variant CJD, a separate human disease believed to have developed as a result of people consuming products contaminated with central nervous system tissue of BSE-infected cattle. Variant CJD was first documented in England in 1996 and is believed to have affected about 100 people in Europe.

Documented studies report that the BSE agent, to date, only has been found in brain, spinal cord and retina (eye) tissue of naturally infected cattle. The BSE disease agent has not been found in muscle meat or milk, which comprise the majority of cattle products. No documented cases of new variant CJD (vCJD) have ever been found in the U.S.

CJD and vCJD are distinctly separate diseases, each with its own unique features. Classic CJD can occur in one of three forms: a familial, or genetically inherited form; a sporadic form of an unknown origin which accounts for roughly 85 percent of all CJD cases; or an acquired form due to inadvertent exposure to CJD-contaminated equipment or material as a result of brain surgery and through the use of human pituitary-derived growth hormones or gonadotrophin. Whereas CJD typically strikes people over 55, vCJD has occurred almost exclusively in people under the age of 55.

The U.S. was the first country to take aggressive prevention measures against BSE without ever having the disease within its borders. A national surveillance program, started by the U.S. Department of Agriculture in 1990, hasn't turned up a trace of BSE in U.S. cattle. So right now, it remains a "foreign" disease confined largely to Britain and parts of Europe. In addition, a number of stringent protective measures, or firewalls, have been put in place over the last 12 years to keep the disease from ever occurring here.

Whenever foot and mouth disease is reported in any country, the USDA enacts a series of aggressive measures including import bans to keep it from spreading here. Additionally, American cattlemen are part of an ongoing surveillance effort that helps detect any potential disease among U.S. herds. For example, in Idaho two cases were recently reported with animals displaying lesions on their mouths and feet B symptoms typical to FMD. Fortunately, testing confirmed that both cases were negative for FMD. It's because of this cooperative relationship between cattlemen, government agencies and health officials that FMD has not been seen in the U.S. in more than 70 years.

These measures represent a combined effort by the government and the entire U.S. cattle industry to make sure the nation's beef supply remains the safest in the world. It's an effort that involves every cattleman in this state, given their strong professional and personal interest in ensuring the safety of the beef they feed the public and their own families.

Every cattleman in America knows how great a threat the so-called "mad cow disease" is to our industry and the revival we've worked so hard to achieve. As a result, producers have been vigorous supporters of steps taken by the U.S. government to keep BSE out of this country. Because of other concerns, the United States has banned beef imports from Great Britain since 1985. Other bans, enacted in response to BSE in Europe, now prohibit the importing of live ruminants B animals like cows, goats or sheep B and all animal protein products from all of Europe. A small number of animals that were imported from Europe before the bans were in place have been quarantined and closely monitored. The purpose of these bans is clear: to protect our borders and keep this foreign animal disease out of the United States.

Ten years of active surveillance confirm the effectiveness of these steps. As of December 2000, U.S. government labs have tested nearly 12,000 brain samples from cattle that showed even the slightest risk B including older animals, those that were non-ambulatory or had difficulty walking, and cattle with possible neurological symptoms. Not a single one of these tests has found BSE or any similar disease among U.S. cattle.

As an added level of protection, in 1997 the Food and Drug Administration banned the practice of feeding to cattle any protein supplements, such as meat and bone meal, made from cattle and other animal byproducts. This feed ban comes in response to findings that the disease was spread in Europe by way of feed contaminated with BSE. It ensures that if BSE were ever to get into the United States, it would not spread. Both the government and the U.S. cattle industry are working to assure full compliance with this feed ban.

For the past two-and-a-half years, America's BSE prevention efforts have been under review by the Harvard Center for Risk Analysis. USDA asked for the review to assess the risk of BSE in this country. According to Dr. George Gray, the center's program director for food safety and agriculture, the study's preliminary findings confirm we are on the right track. In recent statements about BSE, Dr. Gray concludes that the disease is "not likely to occur here" and further notes that "the risk that mad cow disease could happen in the USA is low, and the risk that it could spread as it did in Europe is lower still." Dr. Gray also has said that even if an infected animal shows up in this country, the safeguards in place would keep that animal out of the human food chain.

Keeping BSE and other foreign animal diseases out of this country requires the continued vigilance of the government and all segments of the cattle industry. Full compliance with all preventive measures is the only acceptable standard when the need is to protect America's cattle herd and to protect American consumers. America's cattlemen have shown they are ready to meet that standard.

-CCA-

Colorado Cattlemen’s Association (CCA) is the state’s only nonprofit trade organization exclusively representing Colorado’s beef producers. Founded in 1867, CCA is the nation’s oldest state cattlemen’s association.  

CCA Staff Contacts
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Executive Vice President
Terry R. Fankhauser
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Jan Ammon
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Robert Farnam
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Traci Eatherton
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