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March is Women's History Month!

Case of Mad Cow Disease Detected in Alabama

   Alabama was the site of a rarely seen form of mad cow disease this month. The disease was confirmed in an 11 year old beef cow that had been for sale at a stockyard. When it became sick and died, tissue samples were sent to a diagnostic lab which came back positive for atypical bovine spongiform encephalopathy or BSE. The cow was not slaughtered and the meat did not enter the food chain. Alabama Agriculture Commissioner John McMillan says everyone involved followed protocol. McMillan called the case a rare and spontaneous incident, which can occur in older animals. There have only been five incidents of the atypical form of the disease ever confirmed in the United States.