The US federal government has said it is to slaughter 450 quarantined calves from the  Washington state herd that is known to include the offspring of the animal with the nation's first known case of mad cow disease.

Beginning this week, the cull is expected to be the first of many as officials try to root out potentially diseased animals. As the calf in question cannot be identified, the whole herd is being slaughtered.

In a statement , Ron DeHaven, chief veterinarian for the U.S. Department of Agriculture, said the slaughtered animals will not enter the food supply chain or be used for any other purpose. DeHaven did not explain why the USDA decided to cull the herd now.  However, other USDA officials later said the agency was acting out of caution as it was theoretically possible for a calf to contract BSE from a diseased mother.  An additional 4,000 cattle are quarantined because of concerns over mad cow disease.

DeHaven emphasised that because the animals were so young and mad cow disease does not appear until an animal is at least 30 months old, there was no public health risk.  Around 30 nations have banned imports of U.S. beef since mad cow was identified in the Washington state dairy cow on Dec. 23.

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