BSE infection in the Netherlands concerns an atypical variant

Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) has been found in a cow cadaver in the Netherlands. It concerns the atypical variant, the Ministry of Agriculture just reported. It is the first case of BSE, the so-called mad cow disease, in the Netherlands in twelve years. Piet Adema, the Minister of Agriculture, reports this in a letter to the House of Representatives.

The company from which the animal originates is located in South Holland. The cadaver of the positively tested bovine was sampled at Rendac. The animal's meat has not entered the food chain and does not pose a risk to food safety, Adema emphasises. The farm in question from which the cow originates has been immediately blocked by the NVWA.

Wageningen Bioveterinary Research (WBVR) has further investigated the cadaver of the 8-year-old cow. The outcome is that it concerns the atypical variant. The so-called atypical variant can occur sporadically in older cows, a kind of 'old-age BSE'. The last case in the Netherlands in 2011 had this variant. The classic variant was first found in Great Britain in 1986. Reuse of animal proteins in animal feed was an important cause of the spread of classical BSE among cattle. Since 1997, 88 cases of the classic variant have been found in the Netherlands. This was followed by a European ban on the use of animal meal in cattle feed.

Far-reaching for affected livestock farms
The discovery is drastic for the livestock farmer involved. The NVWA has carried out a source and contact investigation and the infected cattle has five descendants, one of which is still alive on the same farm. The other calves are older than two years, which means that it is unlikely that the transfer from mother to calves could have taken place. Also all bovine animals born on the same holding within 13 months before or after the birth of this bovine animal and all bovine animals kept together with this infected bovine animal in its first year of life and which, according to the study, have the same potential during that period. contaminated feed are killed and tested. A total of XNUMX cattle have been traced.

Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) is a fatal disease affecting the central nervous system of cattle. BSE is a zoonosis that can cause the deadly brain disease Creutzfeldt-Jacob in humans. People can become infected by consuming products from cattle infected with BSE.

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