Texas cattle test negative for BSE

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Diagnostic tests on brain tissue from 16 cattle imported from Germany to Texas in 1996 have indicated that the animals did not have bovine spongiform encephalopathy, agriculture officials reported in late April.

The animals, under quarantine for several years, were among the last survivors of several hundred cattle imported before the USDA banned meat and cattle imports from European countries in 1997 in an effort to keep BSE out of the country. Now, only 10 animals imported from Europe before the ban are known to be alive in the United States, USDA officials said.

The animals were euthanatized at Texas A&M University, and the tissue samples sent to the National Veterinary Services Laboratories in Ames, Iowa, for evaluation. The carcasses were then incinerated.