BSE hits the U.S.

Everyone knew that the good times weren't going to last but who knew that the fall would be so fast. On Tuesday United States Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman announced that a single case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy -- BSE or mad cow disease -- has been found in a Washington dairy herd. While the preliminary tests are not conclusive the announcement has caused a tidal wave of panicked closing of borders in the international community.

In a press release Veneman said, "Despite this finding, we remain confident in the safety of our beef supply. The risk to human health for BSE is extremely low."

BSE is a neurological disease, similar to the human Czeutzfeld-Jakob Disease, and is caused by eating neural tissue, like brain or spinal cord. The USDA outlawed the use of animal proteins for cattle feed in 1997 but continue to test for the disease, in 2002 the USDA tested 19,990 head of cattle for BSE in their program of surveillance for herd and health threatening diseases. This is the first time that BSE has ever been found in the United States. Consumers should note that experts say even in infected animals the disease is not found in muscle cuts but rather only in the neural tissue.

On Wednesday Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong, Australia, Taiwan, Singapore, Mexico, Hong Kong Thailand, Malaysia, Brazil and Russia have halted the import of American cattle or beef products. Mexico, which imports the largest quantity of American beef -- 384,900 tons, also banned the import of live cattle from the United States. The United States shipped 106,000 head of cattle to Mexico last year.

''This is a precautionary measure, in which Mexico is saying 'stop everything' and we'll study the situation,'' said Javier Trujillo, director of safety and inspection for the Agriculture Department.

''We're even going to send inspectors to Washington state and once we know the exact dimensions, we will decide if we maintain it.''

In a press release U.S. Senator Kit Bond said "As a consumer, I think we should be using our brain matter, not consuming it. It is imperative that USDA continues to eliminate any and all risk, as Congress and the public require them, but I look forward to my Christmas steak dinner."

''The key here is to restore confidence quickly, not to allow it to drag out,'' Sean Ricard, former chief economist of Britain's National Farmers' Union, told British Broadcasting Corp. radio. ''What I hope America will do is take rapid action, perhaps slaughter the herd that animal came from.''

Ricard predicted a short-term slide in the price of beef in the United States.