BRASILIA – The Brazilian agriculture ministry recently reported a case of atypical bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) in a 17-year-old beef cow in the state of Mato Grosso.

“All BSE-specific risk material was removed from the animal during emergency slaughter and incinerated at the slaughterhouse itself,” the agency said in a statement. “Other products derived from the animal were identified, located and seized preventively, with no product entering the human food chain or ruminants.”

Atypical BSE is believed to occur spontaneously in cattle at a very low rate, according to the World Animal Health Organization (OIE). There will be no change in Brazil’s BSE risk classification for the disease. Brazil has recorded only three cases of atypical BSE in more than 20 years, OIE reported. The last case was detected in 2014.