IMPORTANT FACTS YOU SHOULD KNOW

ABOUT MAD COW DISEASE AND FOOT-AND-MOUTH DISEASE

Two European animal diseases are making headlines around the globe. One is called mad cow disease (Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy or BSE), and the other is called foot-and-mouth disease. Here’s what you should know about both:

1) The two diseases are not related.

2) Neither disease has been found in the United States, or in the North American continent. Therefore U.S. beef remains safe.

3) The livestock industry and the U.S. government have taken strict measures to keep both diseases out of this country in order to protect our livestock and our families.

Mad Cow Disease

· The disease agent has never been found in muscle meat or in milk. It is found in the central nervous system tissue like the brain and spinal cord and in retina (eye) tissue of infected cows.

· Mad cow disease (BSE) has not been detected in the U.S., and we have a triple firewall system in place to keep it out.

· Firewall #1: A series of import bans dating back to 1989 ensure no live cattle and cattle products from these animals are imported from any European countries.

· Firewall #2: In 1997, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration banned at-risk animal protein in cattle feed. While feeding animal protein to cattle doesn’t cause mad cow (only infected animal protein can spread the disease), the ban would keep the disease from spreading should it ever occur in the U.S.

· Firewall #3: A 10-year surveillance program by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has found no sign of the disease in America’s cattle herds.

Foot-and-Mouth Disease

· Foot-and-Mouth disease (FMD) is completely different than mad cow disease. It does not affect humans, and the U.S. has not had a case of FMD in more than 70 years.

· While foot-and-mouth disease poses no human health risk, it can cause severe problems for cloven-hoofed animals such as cattle, pigs, sheep and lambs, and therefore can result in major economic damage.

· The USDA has banned imports of all animals and animal products from the entire European Union due to concerns about foot-and-mouth disease there.

· To protect U.S. livestock, it is very important that travelers returning from countries with FMD follow customs regulations, which include notification of farm visits while abroad and not bringing prohibited agriculture products back into the U.S.

· For more information about foot-and-mouth disease, call the USDA hotline at 1-800-601-9327 (hours of operation are 8 AM to 5 PM Eastern Standard Time). For information about animal diseases and travel out-side of the U.S., call 1-866-723-4827.

For more information on BSE, visit www.bseinfo.org

For more information on FMD, visit www.usda.aphis.org

National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, 5420 South Quebec Street, Greenwood Village, CO 80111, cattle@beef.org. This project was funded with beef checkoff dollars on behalf of the Cattlemen’s Beef Board.