USDA reveals possible second “mad cow” case

USDA reveals possible second “mad cow” case

USDA reveals possible second “mad cow” case

   The U.S. Department of Agriculture said Thursday morning an “inconclusive” test indicated the possibility of a second case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy, also known as BSE or “mad cow” disease, in the country.
   This is unsettling news for American beef exporters, who are just beginning to recover from a near global ban on their products last year after a confirmed case of the brain-wasting disease in a Washington state cow. The USDA has since secured the reopening of beef export markets in Canada and Mexico, and is close to restarting this trade with Japan and several other Asian countries.
   “The inclusive result does not mean we have found another case of BSE in this country,” said Andrea Morgan, associate deputy administrator for USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, in a Nov. 18 statement.
   Tissues samples from the suspect cow were sent to USDA’s Veterinary Services Laboratories, which will run confirmatory testing. The test results should take four to seven days, the USDA said.
   “Because this test is only an inconclusive test result, we are not disclosing details specific to this test at this time,” Morgan said. “If the test comes back positive for BSE, we will provide additional information about the animal and its origin.”
   Morgan said APHIS has started “internal steps to begin initial tracebacks, if further testing were to return a positive result.”
   The USDA also affirmed that the cow in question did not enter the food or feed chain.