PCR and antibody methods: Research compares two cattle feed tests that detect bovine byproduct contaminants

B spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), also known as mad cow disease, has now been found in 26 countries including Canada and the United States. The consumption of meat from BSE-infected cattle is believed to have caused the deaths of close to 200 people worldwide, from a disease called variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD) (GAO 2005). Furthermore, BSE can have devastating effects on a country’s beef industry. More than 5 million cattle were killed in an effort to control BSE in Europe; in the United Kingdom alone, almost 4 million head of cattle were destroyed through January 2004, costing the British economy as much as 5 billion pounds (the equivalent of up to 8 billion dollars). When a single BSE-infected cow was found in the United States on Dec. 23, 2003, major foreign markets prohibited RESEARCH ARTICLE