PRO/AH/EDR> BSE, bovine - USA (06): confirmed MAD COW DISEASE

A NEWSLETTER I RECEIVED>>>>

BSE, BOVINE - USA (06): CONFIRMED
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Date: 24 Jun 2005
From: ProMED-mail <promed@promedmail.org>
Source: The Guardian
<http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,1280,-5096778,00.html>


Tests confirm second mad cow case in US
---------------------------------------
WASHINGTON (AP) - Tests have confirmed mad cow disease (bovine spongiform
encephalopathy; BSE) in a US cow previously cleared of having the brain
wasting illness, the Agriculture Department said Friday. It is the second
case of BSE in the United States.

An internationally recognized laboratory in Weybridge, England, confirmed
the case of BSE after US tests produced conflicting results, Agriculture
Secretary Mike Johanns said.

Human health was not at risk, Johanns said. The animal was a "downer",
meaning it was unable to walk. Such animals are banned from the food
supply. The department has said there was no reason to believe the animal
was imported.

New tests were ordered two weeks ago. Those results came back positive,
leading officials to seek confirmation from the Weybridge lab. The
department also performed more tests at its lab in Ames, Iowa. The first
case confirmed in the US was in December 2003, a dairy cow imported from
Canada. "I am encouraged that our interlocking safeguards are working
exactly as intended," Johanns said at a news conference. "This animal was
blocked from entering the food supply because of the firewalls we have in
place. Americans have every reason to continue to be confident in the
safety of our beef," he said. Johanns also announced the department will do
more sensitive tests as a matter of routine.

The department has come under fire for not resolving conflicting test
results on this animal in November. The department did initial screening
using a "rapid test", which was positive. A more detailed
immunohistochemistry, or IHC test, was negative. But the department did not
conduct a third round, using a test called the Western blot, until ordered
by the department's inspector general. Now the department will use both IHC
and Western blot when rapid tests indicate the presence of the disease,
Johanns said.

"I want to make sure we continue to give consumers every reason to be
confident in the health of our cattle herd," Johanns said. "By adding the
second confirmatory test, we boost that confidence and bring our testing in
line with the evolving worldwide trend," the secretary said.

(byline: Libby Quaid)

--
ProMED-mail
<promed@promedmail.org>

BSE, bovine - USA (05): susp. 20050614.1664
BSE, bovine - USA (04): susp. 20050613.1657
BSE, bovine - USA (03): susp. 20050612.1637
BSE, bovine - USA: susp. (02): tests 20050611.1626
BSE, bovine - USA: susp. 20050611.1625]

......................mhj/sh


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...there's a DU discussion at:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x3941182

I'm not sure if it's been confirmed over there, but it's a good discussion about the administration failing us...again!