USDA probes possible 3rd case of mad cow disease

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A cow suspected of having mad cow
disease will be retested in British and U.S. laboratories for
confirmation of what may be America’s third case, the U.S.
Agriculture Department said on Wednesday.

Final test results are expected early next week. The U.S.
cattle industry said existing safeguards prevented the suspect
cow from entering the human food supply, but consumer groups
said more measures were needed to protect Americans.

USDA Chief Veterinarian John Clifford said the suspect
animal, which was destroyed after having trouble giving birth
in April, produced an inconclusive result in an initial round
of testing for the brain-wasting disease.

“USDA is conducting further testing at the National
Veterinary Services Laboratories in Ames, Iowa, in consultation
with experts from the international reference laboratory in
Weybridge, England,” he told reporters. “We are also sending
samples from this animal to the Weybridge laboratory for
further testing.”

The first U.S. case, reported in 2003, prompted major beef
trading partners like Japan, South Korea and Taiwan to halt
billions of dollars worth of U.S. beef imports.

The latest incidents come as Bush administration officials
had started to make optimistic comments about persuading those
countries to resume buying U.S. beef. Clifford said he did not
think the new probe would affect trade negotiations.

The USDA said the cow was born in the United States at
least 12 years ago, but refused to identify where it lived. The
USDA banned the use of cattle remains in cattle feed in 1997 to
stop what is believed to be the main way bovine are infected.

America’s second case of mad cow disease — its first in a
native animal — was confirmed last month. That animal, a
12-year-old Texas cow, tested positive for the brain wasting
disease after initially returning inconclusive results.

VET FORGOT TO SEND SAMPLE

The latest case also involves confusion and possible
missteps over test procedures.

A local veterinarian who submitted the cow’s brain sample
to the USDA first treated it with a preservative, making it
impossible to conduct a sophisticated test known as the Western
blot, Clifford said. USDA scientists can still conduct an
immunohistochemistry (IHC) test, but they cannot use the
Western blot test for a comparison.

In addition, the veterinarian obtained the brain sample in
April but did not send it to the USDA until a few days ago,
Clifford said, because he “simply forgot to send it in.” The
sample was also frozen, counter to USDA guidelines.

The first U.S. case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy
(BSE) or mad cow disease was found in December 2003, in a
Washington state dairy cow imported from Canada. It prompted
the USDA to adopt new safeguards including more testing of
cattle for the disease and a ban on using crippled or downer
cattle in human food.

CONSUMER GROUPS WANT MORE TESTING

Consumer advocates said the USDA must continue its enhanced
surveillance program and strengthen safeguards. More than
419,000 cattle were tested in the past 13 months in a
stepped-up testing program designed to run up to 18 months.

“This is possibly the third case, indicating now that we
really should keep our testing program, if not expand it,” said
Jean Halloran, food policy director for Consumers Union.

Halloran also said the Food and Drug Administration must
close its loopholes and ban the use of cattle blood, chicken
litter and restaurant scraps for animal feed.

U.S. Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns told Reuters on
Wednesday it was not yet time to decide whether the stepped-up
program should be maintained. “We’re not there today,” Johanns
said in an interview on Capitol Hill.

The beef industry said the U.S. food supply is safe.

“It is important to remember that the U.S. government and
the beef industry have put science-based precautions in place
over the past 15 years to ensure our beef remains safe from
BSE,” said Terry Stokes, chief executive of the National
Cattlemen’s Beef Association.

The USDA also recently won a court appeal to start imports
of live young Canadian cattle for the first time in two years,
arguing against protests from ranchers and consumer groups that
Canada’s safeguards against the disease were adequate.