Even Heathly Cattle to be Tested for BSE
US - USDA announced its plan to test approximately 20,000 healthy but older cattle for the brain-destroying disease, bovine spongiform encephalopathy. In late 2003, the United States reported its first case of the disease in a cow in Washington state. To bolster anti-BSE firewalls, USDA expanded its surveillance program to test nearly 500,000 cattle within 18 months. The expanded testing procedures targeted suspected cattle, such as non-ambulatory bovines. To further determine the extent of the disease in the United States, USDA said that during the next few weeks it will begin testing 20,000 healthy cattle - aged 30 months or older - whose owners volunteer to have them tested.Source: Wisconsin Ag Connection