Toll-Free Number to Expand BSE Surveillance Effort

June 15, 2004 - The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) has announced a toll-free number to report high-risk cattle in the United States. The toll-free number for the bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) surveillance program is (866) 536–7593.

As part of its expanded BSE surveillance effort, APHIS will work closely with cattle producers, renderers, veterinarians, and others to obtain samples from high-risk cattle targeted in this program. Toll-free callers reporting high-risk cattle will connect with a local APHIS office that will provide additional information. USDA will help defray costs incurred by industries participating in the surveillance program for such items as transportation, disposal and storage, and tested carcasses.

APHIS’ enhanced BSE surveillance effort aims to test as many high-risk cattle as possible within the next 12–18 months. High-risk animals include:

• Non-ambulatory cattle;
• Cattle exhibiting signs of a central nervous system disorder;
• Cattle exhibiting other signs that can be associated with BSE, such as emaciation or injury; and
• Dead cattle.

Under this enhanced program, sampling approximately 268,000 animals would detect BSE at a rate of one positive in 10 million adult cattle with a 99 percent confidence level.


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