June 30, 2004

Second Possible Mad Cow Case Discovered In The US
 

The US Agriculture Department late Tuesday received an inconclusive preliminary screening on a second animal indicating possible mad cow disease. But officials cautioned the test is so sensitive it does not mean another case has been found.

It is the second such discovery in five days as part of the government's rapid screening program. The only confirmed mad cow case in this country was discovered in Washington state last December, prompting more-sophisticated screening programs.

Tissue samples from the animal in the latest case were being sent to the department's National Veterinary Services Laboratories in Ames, Iowa, so more conclusive tests can be run. Results on the samples from a case discovered last Friday have yet to be released.

Federal officials emphasized that the rapid screening tests, of which more than 7,000 have been conducted, are extremely sensitive, and in themselves do not confirm a case of brain-wasting mad cow disease, also known as bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE).

"The inconclusive result does not mean we have found another case of BSE in this country," John Clifford, deputy administrator of the USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, said in a statement.

"Inconclusive results are a normal component of screening tests."

Clifford said the carcass involved in Tuesday's test has been accounted for and none of the meat is in the food supply.

As with the earlier case announced Friday, officials did not disclose the location of the animal, the state it came from or the facility at which it was killed or tested. Follow-up tests take four to seven days, Clifford said.

The rapid screening test is designed to give a quick early indication that there may be a problem with a particular animal. But USDA officials and industry representatives emphasized there is a high chance "that confirmatory results will be negative" once the tissues are more closely examined at the laboratory in Ames.