Brazil investigates case of “mad cow” in Pará

The Ministry of Agriculture confirmed that it is investigating a possible case of “mad cow disease” in Pará. According to sources heard by Valor, the animal would have been between 7 and 8 years old and was found in the field and not in a slaughterhouse, with signs of death due to the nervous disease Bovine Spongiform Encephalitis. Still according to the sources, preliminary tests came back negative for rabies and positive for EBB. Now samples have been sent to Canada, as recommended by the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE), and can leave at any time. As the symptoms were seen in an animal of an advanced age, the sources heard by Valor believe it to be an “atypical” case, normally without risk of creating barriers for the country's beef exports. The last occurrences of the genus in the country were in Minas Gerais and Mato Grosso, in 2021. Despite this, slaughterhouses are already aware of a possible barrier from China, which can put pressure on the price of beef and ...