USDA Investigating Possible Case of Mad Cow Disease

November 18, 2004
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) says it's been notified that an inconclusive result was received on a rapid screening test used as part of the agency's enhanced Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) surveillance program.

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Andrea Morgan, Associate Deputy Administrator Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, said tissue samples are being sent to USDA's National Veterinary Services Laboratories (NVSL) -- the national BSE reference lab -- which will run confirmatory testing.

"Because this test is only an inconclusive test result, we are not disclosing details specific to this test at this time," Morgan said, adding "it is important to note, that this animal did not enter the food or feed chain."

"The inconclusive result does not mean we have found another case of BSE in this country. Inconclusive results are a normal component of screening tests, which are designed to be extremely sensitive so they will detect any sample that could possibly be positive," Morgan said.

Confirmatory results are expected back from NVSL within the next 4 to 7 days. If the test comes back positive for BSE, USDA will provide additional information about the animal and its origin.

"APHIS has begun internal steps to begin initial tracebacks, if further testing were to return a positive result," Morgan said.

Cattle ranchers were quick to respond.

"As America's beef producers, our livelihood depends on providing the safest beef in the world. As a rancher, a mother and a grandmother, I know the beef I produce is served in homes around the world, including my family's home. Providing safe and wholesome beef remains our number one priority," said Manhattan, Kansas, cattle producer Jan Lyon of The National Cattlemen's Beef Association.

Last December, a Holstein cow in Washington State tested positive for BSE. Several major U-S trading partners, including Japan and South Korea halted imports of U.S. beef. As a result, USDA implemented an enhanced BSE surveillance program, which focuses on the highest risk animals and is designed to identify a single case of BSE if it exists in the U.S. at a rate of just 1 in 10 million adult cattle. Since June 1, 113,264 high-risk cattle have been tested for BSE, with no positive cases found.

BSE, an incurable and fatal brain-wasting disease in humans, is linked to a similar human ailment called variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease, or vCJD. There have been a small number of cases of vCJD reported worldwide, primarily in the United Kingdom, in people who ate BSE-contaminated meat.

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