WASHINGTON (AP) - A second case of mad cow disease may have turned up in the United States but the suspect meat has not entered the food chain, Agriculture Department officials said Thursday.
The officials released few details and refused to say where the possibly diseased animal was found. They said it would be four to seven days before more could be confirmed, a delay that livestock industry representatives said would cause turmoil in the beef market.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Government scientists are chasing a possible new case of mad cow disease in the United States, with final results on a suspicious slaughtered animal expected in coming days, officials said on Thursday.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture said rapid-screening tests had returned "inconclusive" results and triggered a more sophisticated, final round of tests to determine if a suspect animal has mad cow disease. If it does, it will be the second U.S. case of the brain-wasting malady, after one was discovered last December.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -- A final test is likely to confirm a second U.S. case of mad cow disease, experts said on Thursday, though they see a small possibility the animal, which tested "inconclusive" in two preliminary tests, could be given a clean bill of health.
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The USDA said it would use a more sophisticated test, known as the immunohistochemistry test, or IHC, to confirm whether there is a new case of mad cow disease. Test results were expected in four to seven days.
Statement By U.S. Department of Agriculture Press Secretary Alisa Harrison
November 22, 2004
"Test results for the BSE inconclusive are not complete. There will be no announcements made tonight. USDA will release the results as soon as the National Veterinary Services Laboratory completes the testing process."
"The USDA National Veterinary Services Laboratories (NVSL) in Ames, Iowa, has determined that the inconclusive screening test sample reported on Nov. 18 has tested negative for BSE upon confirmatory testing.
11-18-2004 07:33 PM
