The spreading of mad cow disease is a concern, but not a great risk, according to Harvard experts who have studied the issue.

The discovery of an infected mad cow in Washington state last month has prompted concerns that American beef may be contaminated.

But Former U.S. Secretary of Agriculture and Director of the Institute of Politics Daniel R. Glickman said last week that mad cow disease is not an epidemic.

“More people are likely to get sick from E. coli or salmonella. This is not a monumental health issue, but our job is to make sure that it never becomes a monumental health issue,” he said.

Concerns about American beef were assuaged last week when DNA tests proved that the American cow’s case of the disease originated in Canada.

But according to Glickman, the issue isn’t likely to disappear anytime soon.

“I don’t think this is the last case we’re going to see,” he said.

Glickman served as secretary of agriculture from 1995 to 2001 and began to study mad cow disease in Europe before it became a North American issue.

“During the end of my term, this was something we were worried about. I never thought it was impossible for us to find a case here,” he said.

During his term, Glickman took precautionary measures to protect the U.S. from an outbreak of the disease. He banned feed including spinal cord and brain tissue because cows become infected with the disease by sharing tissue membranes, often through their food.

But with the discovery of an infected cow in the U.S., Glickman’s term has come under new scrutiny. Glickman himself says the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) could have done more.

“In hindsight, we could have moved faster on some things,” he said, noting that he felt his administration should have prevented sick cows, known as “downer cows,” from going to the slaughterhouses and entering the food supply.

Current Secretary of Agriculture Ann M. Veneman announced the end of this practice after the discovery of an infected cow in Washington state on Dec. 23.

Going forward, Glickman recommended establishing a more sophisticated tracking and identification system to determine the location of the affected animals. Currently, an animal can only be tested for the disease after it is dead.

During his term in Washington, Glickman also commissioned the Harvard Center for Risk Analysis to study the risks of mad cow disease.