U.S. reports case of atypical mad cow disease

CHICAGO, (Reuters) – The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced an atypical case of Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE), commonly called mad cow disease, in an older beef cow at a slaughter plant in South Carolina.

USDA said the animal never entered slaughter channels and the agency did not expect any trade impacts as a result.

It was the seventh detection of BSE in the United States since 2003 and all but one have been atypical.

“This finding of an atypical case will not change the negligible risk status of the United States and should not lead to any trade issues,” USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service said in a statement.