Object

Nebraska Downer Cow Tissue Sample

A quarantined bovine from a Nebraska herd exposed to banned feed 18 months prior crumples, legs buckling under neurological assault—tremors, collapse, incapacity to stand. Doctors Bedrosien and Califf seize tissue samples, rush tests revealing Iowa's presumptive mad cow positive, thrusting the carcass into Leo McGarry's path as crisis ignites in the Roosevelt Room.

1 appearances

Purpose

Pathological testing for bovine spongiform encephalopathy (mad cow disease) at NVSL in Ames, Iowa

Significance

Detonates crisis escalation in the Roosevelt Room, flagging potential national emergency, class-one cattle recall, and economic Armageddon—Leo shoulders the burden, hurtling toward Bartlet briefing amid White House tempests.

Appearances in the Narrative

When this object appears and how it's used

1 moments

S3E8 · The Women of Qumar

Leo Briefed on Presumptive Mad Cow Case

Doctors detail tissue ripped from the symptomatic downer cow, dispatched to NVSL Ames (presumptive positive) and UK lab for verdict; it embodies the diagnostic linchpin, propelling Leo's questions and revealing stakes from one ravaged sample to millions, central to crisis authentication.

Before: Extracted from neurologically compromised downer cow in quarantined Nebraska herd

After: Iowa-tested presumptive positive; UK sample pending confirmation, quarantined pending results

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