Foot and mouth vs. mad cow

Here are some questions and answers from the U.S. Department of Agriculture regarding foot-and-mouth disease and mad cow disease, two unrelated livestock diseases that have affected Ireland and the UK in recent years:

What is foot-and-mouth disease?

FMD is a highly contagious and economically devastating disease of cattle and swine. It also affects sheep, goats, deer, and other cloven-hoofed ruminants.

Many affected animals recover, but the disease leaves them debilitated. FMD causes severe losses in the production of meat and milk. Because it spreads widely and rapidly and because it has grave economic as well as physical consequences, FMD is one of the animal diseases that livestock owners dread most. The disease does not affect food safety or humans.

Can people get the disease from animals?

It is not believed to readily affect humans. The disease has no implications for the human food chain. People, however, can spread the virus to animals because it can remain in human nasal passages for as long as 28 hours.

How do you get rid of foot-and-mouth disease?

The virus can be killed off by heat, low humidity, or some disinfectants. It is only rarely fatal, although it is more likely to kill very young animals. There is no cure for the disease, and it usually runs its course in 2 or 3 weeks with most animals recovering, although some animals take up to 6 months to fully recover.

If most animals don’t die, why go to such great lengths to eradicate it?

The disease is highly contagious, with nearly 100 percent of exposed animals becoming infected. If the disease became widespread in any country, there would be disastrous economic consequences.

What is the U.S. Department of Agriculture doing to protect the United States from foot-and-mouth disease?

The USDA implemented an interim rule on Feb. 21 prohibiting or restricting the importation into the United States of live swine and ruminants and any fresh swine or ruminant meat (chilled or frozen) or products from Britain or Northern Ireland. USDA’s FMD policy has been to be proactive and preventative. As a result, the interim rule is effective retroactively. Products dated after Jan. 14 are not permitted entry into the United States.

What is USDA doing to prevent travelers from bringing FMD into the United States?

Ports of entry have been notified to enhance surveillance of travelers coming from Europe.

Mad Cow Disease

What is mad cow disease?

Bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), widely known as "mad cow disease," is a chronic, degenerative disease affecting the central nervous system of cattle.

Where has it spread?

Worldwide there have been more than 178,000 cases since the disease was first diagnosed in 1986 in Britain. BSE has had a substantial impact on the livestock industry in the UK.

Are there similar diseases of humans and other animals?

BSE belongs to the family of disease known as the transmissible spongiform encephalopathies. TSE’s include scrapie (which affects sheep and goats), transmissible mink encephalopathy, feline spongiform encephalopathy, chronic wasting disease of deer and elk, and in humans, kuru, CJD, Gerstmann-Straussler syndrome, fatal familial insomnia, and CJD.

What is the treatment?

There is no treatment and affected cattle die.

What is the cause of BSE in Britain?

Epidemiologic data suggest that BSE in Britain is a common-source epidemic involving animal feed containing contaminated meat and bone meal as a protein source. The causative agent is suspected to be from either scrapie-affected sheep or cattle with a previously unidentified TSE. Changes in rendering practices in the early 1980s may have potentiated the agent’s survival in meat and bone meal.

What is Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (CJD)?

CJD is a slow degenerative human disease of the central nervous system with obvious dysfunction, progressive dementia, and vacuolar degeneration of the brain. CJD occurs sporadically worldwide at a rate of 1 case per 1 million people per year.

What is the USDA policy in regard to BSE, and what actions has USDA taken?

Import restrictions have been in place since 1989, and active surveillance efforts began in 1990. The USDA continually monitors and assesses all ongoing events and research findings regarding spongiform encephalopathies, as new information and knowledge may lead to revised conclusions and prevention measures. Certain products cannot be imported into the United States, except under special permit for scientific, educational or research purposes, or under special conditions to be used in cosmetics. These products include serum, glands, collagen, etc. Importation requests for ruminant material are considered individually, and authorization is granted only to those materials that would not allow exposure to ruminants in the United States.