Tests on suspected mad cow case come back negative

By John Heilprin
The Associated Press

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A more definitive test at the National Veterinary Services Laboratory in Ames, Iowa, came back negative, the officials said. The announcement was a relief to the U.S. beef industry, which is still trying to recover from the nation's first case of the disease last December.

The department said it ran a "gold standard" test twice. Officials did not say where the cow came from or why it was suspected of being diseased.

"Negative results from both ... tests make us confident that the animal in question is indeed negative," the announcement said.

The initial screenings had produced what officials said were "inconclusive" results, but just the possibility of a second case had rattled cattle producers, meatpackers and hamburger chains.

Julie Quick, an Agriculture spokeswoman, said the department would provide no further information about the suspect cow since the test results came back negative.

It has been less than a year since the first case of mad cow disease, or bovine spongiform encephalopathy, was found in the United States. The disease attacks an animal's nervous system, and food contaminated with BSE can afflict people with variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, a rare illness that is usually fatal.

A Canadian-born Holstein was found infected with BSE last December at a slaughterhouse near Moses Lake, Wash. More than 40 countries almost immediately cut off imports of U.S. beef and more than 700 additional cattle in Washington state, Oregon and Idaho were killed as a precaution. Exports account for about $3.8 billion of America's $40 billion a year beef industry.

The first case led authorities to broaden the number of animals screened for the disease and to further restrict what animal parts can be used in cattle feed. Some of those parts, such as the brain, spinal cord and small intestines, have the highest risk of contamination.

Copyright © 2004 The Seattle Times Company

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