July 16, 2004

No BSE "Inconclusive" Test Results In US So Far

Contrary to rumors circulating since early Thursday, the U.S. Department of Agriculture has received no reports from regional laboratories showing an "inconclusive" test result that suggests the possible presence of mad-cow disease, USDA's chief veterinary officer revealed.

John Clifford, USDA's top veterinarian with the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, said: "We have heard no report of an inconclusive (test result) today (Thursday). I don't know where the rumor is coming from."

The USDA has tested more than 17,000 cattle for mad-cow disease, or bovine spongiform encephalopathy, since it began an expanded testing program on June 1. So far the USDA has officially announced two "inconclusive" findings, on June 25 and 29, and they were both later confirmed negative at the USDA's National Veterinary Services Laboratory in Ames, Iowa.

USDA policy calls for regional laboratories around the country to report any "inconclusive" findings during the rapid tests they are performing to USDA headquarters and then send a sample to the Ames laboratory.

USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service is making calls to the regional laboratories, a USDA official said, but so far Thursday no "inconclusives" have been reported.

Japan and South Korea continue to maintain a complete ban on U.S. beef since a BSE case was discovered here in December, but Mexico and Canada have opened up to some U.S. beef.