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FOR years, while the world’s BSE experts warned that it was virtually impossible for cattle in the US to escape the deadly infection, US officials responded with fervent denials. So it is heartening to note that they acted decisively when the first infected creature was found. They could have dodged the issue by insisting the cow was an interloper from Canada – even though feed and animals move so freely across the border that it is effectively non-existent. Instead, the US has imposed a series of costly controls that hard-won experience in Europe has shown are needed to stop the infection spreading.…