In light of the recent news about a cow stricken with Bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), also known as "Mad Cow Disease", that ended up at a pet food manufacturing plant, I've been doing some research to see if dogs can get this disease from eating infected food.

The short answer is "no".

But in reality, it appears that we really don't know for sure. What we do know, is that we have not found any evidence of a canine version of this disease. One of the problems is that there is no way to test for this disease on a live animal. The only way to test is to open up the brain and spinal cord, and perform an examination. It could very well be that if a canine version exists, the visible symptoms may be very different than those with cows, and as such gets misdiagnosed. On the other hand, cats are very much susceptible. There is a feline version called, appropriately enough, "Feline spongiform encephalopathy" (FSE).

BSE and FSE belong to a family of diseases known as "Transmissible spongiform encephalopathy". There is a human form called, "Variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease". On the other hand, no dogs, birds, horses, or reptiles have been found with a variant disease.

Infected Food

In cows, it is said that the incubation period for BSE ranges from 2 to 8 years. Most of the cases involved cattle between 3 and 6 years old, although BSE has been diagnosed in younger and older cattle. Those statistics lead to an industry practice of prohibiting the use of cattle older than 30 months for human food. Cattle older than 30 months are typically used for animal and pet food. Bear in mind, this is not law, just an industry practice.

The origins of BSE appear to have came from Great Britain, mainly because that's where 95% of all BSE cases were found. It's said that the disease was transmitted to cows from infected food. The type of food in question is a protein-based food that is made from cow parts.

There are certain parts of a cow that the industry refers to as "Specified Risk Materials" (SRM). These parts are those that are highly susceptible to carrying the "prions" which scientists believe are linked to BSE. These parts include the brain, spinal cord, nervous tissue, eyes, ganglia, and spleen. Other parts, such as meat, bone, and blood, is not believed to carry any prions.

As it stands right now, the Food and Drug Administration, as well as the U.S. Department of Agriculture, has strict regulations in place that prohibit food manufacturers from using a known infected cow, whether for humans or animals. But in terms of healthy cows, all parts of the cow, including the SRM, can be used for food. The exception to this, is when making livestock feed.

In June of 2004, the FDA published considerations for further action on the control of BSE, which included a suggestion that a prohibition on SRM be put in place for all foods, human and pet. But to date, it has yet to publish any proposed regulations. I would hope that in light of this BSE cow found at a pet food manufacturing plant, they will do so now.

Cattle Testing

In regards to testing cows for BSE, food manufacturing plants generally do not test for BSE as an internal policy. However, many are testing for BSE incooperation with the USDA's BSE Testing Program.

The BSE Testing Program focuses on high-risk cattle, defined as: non-ambulatory cattle; cattle exhibiting signs of a central nervous system disorder; cattle exhibiting other signs that may be associated with BSE, such as emaciation or injury; or, dead cattle. In the case Champion Foods, the subject of the latest case of BSE, they were taking samples of all high-risk cattle, as part of this program.

In addition this program takes random samples from 40 different cattle processing plants, accounting for 86% of the nation's beef. If you're getting your beef fresh from a local butcher, or "whole foods" store, it's likely this beef was not part of this program.

Is Your Dog Safe?

So can you be certain that your dog is safe? The only way to answer that question is to look for cases of Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathy in humans and pets, and figure out how they got it. There is only one case of a person in the United States with the human form of the disease, and this woman came from Great Britain.

Despite the fact that there are cases of humans and cats getting this type of disease, no dogs have been found with it. That does not mean, however, that a canine version does not exist.

Otherwise, it's arguable that pet food is safe. Even though older cows are typically used to make pet food, along with parts that are highly susceptible for BSE contamination, the USDA's testing program is designed to minimize the amount of BSE contamination. It was the same testing program that caught the diseased cow recently in the news.

Remember however, it doesn't matter if you get beef fresh, frozen, or from a can, all cattle is susceptible to BSE.

Documents I read to compile this article:

Pet Foods, Food and Drug Administration

Federal Measures To Mitigate BSE Risks: Considerations for Further Action, Food and Drug Administration

USDA BSE Testing Program, U.S. Department of Agriculture

BSE Backgrounder, American Veterinary Medical Association

Mad Cow Prompts Pet Food Recall, CBS News