An atypical case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), known as “mad cow disease”, has been detected in Switzerland. However, the case is safe for human health, the Federal Office of Food Safety and Veterinary Affairs (Osav) announced on Thursday. The 13-year-old cow was slaughtered urgently and the carcass was cremated.
#AnimalHealth: an atypical case of BSE was observed in Switzerland in a cow aged 13 years. The animal was emergency killed. This isolated case has no consequences for the health status of Switzerland. https://t.co/EB2ADdAVtS pic.twitter.com/NHOb5K3MNW
- BLV - OSAV - USAV (@BLV_OSAV_USAV) February 6, 2020Unlike the classic form, the atypical form can appear spontaneously and unrelated to animal meal in animal feed. This isolated case has no consequences for the original exploitation of the cow, added Osav. However, it has been reported to the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE), based in Paris, as well as to the European Union.
Measures taken in Europe in the 1990s
Appeared in the United Kingdom in the 1980s, “mad cow disease” had spread to many countries in Europe and around the world, and had raised serious concerns among consumers. It had caused a serious crisis in the beef industry.
BSE belongs to the family of prion diseases, neurodegenerative diseases that exist in many other animals as in humans (Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease). Prions, proteins that can become pathogenic by adopting an abnormal form, are different in each species. In Europe, health measures taken in the 1990s, such as the banning of animal meal, surveillance of cross-contamination or destruction of the highest risk tissues, have considerably slowed the curve of the epizootic.
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