Testing for Mad Cow Disease To Expand

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A61585-2004Mar15.html

The Agriculture Department, under fire for the way it has handled the discovery of mad cow disease in a Washington state cow, said yesterday that it will greatly expand the number of cattle it will test for the deadly infection.

Secretary of Agriculture Ann M. Veneman said the agency will spend an additional $70 million to test as many as 268,000 animals a year, up from the current goal of 40,000, to determine how much mad cow disease is in the American herd.

The expanded program is expected to begin in June and will last 12 to 18 months. The added surveillance, which was strongly recommended by a group of international experts consulted by the USDA, will take a far more detailed snapshot of the cattle herd. Because it is concentrating on the cows most likely to be sick, the new testing has the statistical capacity to find an infected cow even if the incidence is as low as 1 in 10 million, USDA officials said.

<snip>

Investigations are underway in Congress and by the USDA's inspector general, and officials from Japan -- the biggest foreign customer for U.S.-grown beef -- have become increasingly critical of the way the department handled the mad cow incident and of its entire surveillance system.

Phyllis K. Fong, the USDA inspector general, told Congress earlier this month that she is conducting an investigation into whether officials had falsified documents and that it could lead to criminal charges.

...more...

My family gave up all beef products on December 20 and we will not eat a bite until they test every cow. And what's up with the "read very carefully" part of this article:

Phyllis K. Fong, the USDA inspector general, told Congress earlier this month that she is conducting an investigation into whether officials had falsified documents and that it could lead to criminal charges.

More falsified documents or lies from this mal-administration that are being brushed aside?

I wish I could say that I am surprised on either item. :mad:

Sorry, couldn't resist :-)
Carol
edited to fix typos in subject line

...and we should all hope for the best!

Cheers,
Lori Price

I'm like you UIA, our family doesn't eat beef products anymore either. That's not to say that we don't get a craving now-and-again for a nice juicy hamburger or steak, (or jello, or marshmallows, etc., etc. Vegetarian cheese is pretty good I've come to find out). We just don't/won't have it until they test every cow (the test right now only costs about $30/cow, so it's VERY DO-able).

It still pre-supposes that they know which cows are most likely to have the disease:

"Because it is concentrating on the cows most likely to be sick, the new testing has the statistical capacity to find an infected cow even if the incidence is as low as 1 in 10 million, USDA officials said."

There are real concerns that the etiology of the disease may have changed or may be different in the North American herd than it was in U.K./Europe. Cows may not be 'going mad' as they did in the U.K., as much as just giving up near the end. Some say that the Washington cow was not even a real downer cow, and it was a bit of a fluke that it ever got tested. This is all from memory, but I believe has been widely reported.

This would severely affect the statistical power of their testing. I don't have the spreadsheet I need right now to estimate sample sizes, but will try to look it up tomorrow. I think I will remain a non-beef eater for a while yet, as well.

Do they test for "mad cowboy" disease, too?

:evilgrin: