BSE is in her eyes

Monday, August 9, 2010

That cow with the gleam in her eye isn't angry because you are standing between her and her calf. She's "mad" for another reason.

Iowa State University and the National Animal Disease Center in the United States found that sheep with scrapie, another prion disease like bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), have a distinct fluorescence in their retinas. Scientists believe it is an accumulation of a substance called lipofuscin. The results of the research need to be confirmed. A non-invasive test conducted while the animal is still alive, means that slaughtering an entire herd, as is done now when BSE is found in an animal in Canada, is unnecessary.

In Winnipeg, Canada's national microbiology laboratory has been working on a urine test that can indicate the presence of BSE infection. So, at some time in the future, veterinarians may be able to tell if a cow is mad from either end. BF