U.S. Finds BSE Positive Cow

[farmers_son]

http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory?id=838890

WASHINGTON Jun 10, 2005 — The government is checking a possible case of mad cow disease in the United States in an animal previously cleared of being infected, the Agriculture Department said Friday.
Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns said more tests were needed to confirm the disease, but he emphasized that the animal did not enter the food supply.
Only one case of mad cow disease has been confirmed in the United States, in a dairy cow in Washington state in December 2003. Since then, preliminary tests have indicated the existence of the disease in three cows, but further testing had ruled out any infection.

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The department decided this week to perform additional tests, and one of those three a beef cow turned up positive. Johanns said the department's inspector general had recommended the additional testing, but the secretary did not say why.
"It's going to require additional testing before we can confirm one way or another whether this is BSE (mad cow disease)," said Dr. John Clifford, chief veterinary officer of the department's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
A sample from the animal was being sent to an internationally recognized laboratory in Weybridge, England, which provided independent confirmation of the first U.S. case of mad cow disease. The Agriculture Department will also conduct further tests.
Johanns said he received results of the latest testing 10 minutes before making the announcement Friday night.
Johanns, former governor beef-producing Nebraska, said that there was no health risk and that he intended "to enjoy a good steak."
"Consumer confidence, I am very confident, will remain," he said. "This is a situation where the firewalls worked. We do not have a human health risk. This animal did not enter the food chain. This animal never got near the food or feed chain."
Cattle must be killed to be tested for the mad cow disease. The government has tested more than 375,000 cows for the disease since the Washington state case.
The officials could not say whether the cow was born in the United States. The Washington state animal had been imported from Canada, which has had three other cases of mad cow disease. Investigators never located all 80 of the cattle that crossed the border into the United States with the infected animal.

[silverback]

Now taking bets as to how soon we will hear that the cow is a) canadian, or b) tested negative, or c) sample lost.

[silverback]

silverback, doubt if you'll get any takers, I am sure most of us feel the same way you do !!!!
Getting close to the court date in July, lobby groups wanting the border open, just too much in our favor to not get another kick in the teeth !!!
Sorry if I sound negative this AM !!

[farmers_son]

Certainly no one on this side of the border would be surprised this announcement was made on a Friday.

The retest of the third U.S. inconclusive cow came at the request of the Inspector General of the USDA. The Inspector General has been quoted as saying “The USDA's mad cow disease testing program is a sham: it doesn't test many cows showing neurological symptoms, it falsified records of one cow to make sure it received "downer" status, and it doesn't test healthy-looking cattle at all!”

Clearly, there's a rift inside the USDA. The inspector general of the agency is trying to warn the public about what goes on behind closed doors, but the rest of the agency seems to have only one mission: protect the [American] beef industry, not the public.
http://www.newstarget.com/001395.html

One cannot help but wonder if the USDA sent along a letter to Weybridge, England spelling out the result the U.S. expected from its best friends in Britain. The test results are subjective and open to interpretation. I may be getting jaded after two years of BSE but I can’t help thinking the results of this test will be guided more by the political aims of the USDA and the Bush administration rather than whether or not the animal actually had BSE.

I think we do know the subject cow was a beef animal and that it most likely did not come from Canada.

[whiteface]

Sounds mostley to me like the start of yet another manipulative process to either keep the border closed (or closed further) or get it open, depending on "who" found the cow. R-calf or USDA. These "cases" are always showing up just as some kind of a change is imminent. You know like when the Japaneese came by to see if there was a need for "blanket testing"...
Ohh, look TWO false positives, you see, we shouldn't blanket test...
They weren't actually BSE and everybodys freaking out...better to not test, Japan, here take our meat...
Whatever.
It's a stage show to suit whoever is really behind this "new case." Yeah it probably is "Canadian" if R-calf gets it's mitts into it or if USDA thinks that makeing her Canadian will somehow further thier cause but I don't think so this time.
I think it's an "American" cow ( and no, it's not a real case like all the rest of them...they won't actually FIND a real case ) BUT they "NEED" one right about now to convince Cebull that it's on both sides of the border already and to show Japan how hard they're working (not actually to OPEN the border just make them think they will) so Japan will consider opening up their market again and not treat them the same we we've been WHEN an American cow is found. They're IN that herd and America has to find a way to let everyone know without taking any real trade risks to let the secret out. Like the current seven year ban, heaven forbid America has to endure one of those, better to just keep the BSE thing quiet...
But they can't anymore, they're finding too many under their secret testing and now would probably like to change their strategy from "BSE free" to "world leader in testing, tracking, safety, and changeing the trade protocals and here's our proof."
The poor Americans aren't likeing one bit that WE HAVE survived and WE WILL compete and they WILL get left behind. How to throw a monkey wrench into this without thinking of long term consequences??? Throw in a BSE positive!
Yawn.
This is just so predictable and tranparent...
NEXT!
Have a good day all!

[whiteface]

It would be sweet justice if it came from Montana !!!!


SORRY I AM BEING NASTY !

[rkaiser]

I think this thing is finally coming to a head.

Johanns and the American government have had pressure from the packers for a long time now, and are finally feeling the heat from Cargil and Tyson as well. Their Canadian joyride will come to an end sooner or later, and they have decided that sooner is good. With Japan showing postive signs, and finally pressure in Canada to test for export markets, Cargil and Tyson have decided it's time.

This BSE positive will make Rcalf's arguements moot, and the new USDA rule will pass ---- along with an open border for OTM beef and maybe even cows.

[blackjack]

...could a person just imagine being a fly on the wall listening to the negotiating happening between R-calf and USDA this weekend...

[blackjack]

Randy I hope you are right for the same of our industry and rural communities !

[JD4ME]

My information on this is that it is not a new animal and is in fact a retest on one of the three animals that tested positive last year with the rapid test and then were not found to have the disease upon further testing with the IHC. The inspector general of the AG. Dept had ordered new tests ,the test used last week was called the immunoblot test(?)
A sample from one of the animals has been sent to Weybridge for independant confirmation becauase of the results from the immunoblot test.

[cowman]

Maybe I am naive or something but I get a bad feeling when people talk about conspiracies or talk about food inspection agencies covering up and being deceptive?
I've heard the stories before and have actually reported some of them here, but I never believed the USDA was intentionally covering anything up?
I wonder what would happen if the general public(guys like me) lost faith in our food safety system?
I do not see this as a positive thing. If there is any basis to this cow/test, I sure hope it isn't shown they were fudging the whole thing! When the consumer believes their food agencies are not straight then it will be "Katie bar the door", because no one will believe anything they say!
The people who are in charge of food safety must be above politics!

[farmers_son]

Note: Officially according to the USDA this BSE positive is still an inconclusive test result. Even though the Western Blot test is an OIE recognized test the U.S. is not owning up to their domestic case of BSE.

http://www.usda.gov/wps/portal/!ut/p/_s.7_0_A/7_0_1OB?contentidonly=true&contentid=2005/06/0206.xml

STATEMENT BY DR. JOHN CLIFFORD REGARDING FURTHER ANALYSIS OF BSE INCONCLUSIVE TEST RESULTS

June 10, 2005

"Since the USDA enhanced surveillance program for BSE began in June 2004, more than 375,000 animals from the targeted cattle population have been tested for BSE using a rapid test. Three of these animals tested inconclusive and were subsequently subjected to immunohistochemistry, or IHC, testing. The IHC is an internationally recognized confirmatory test for BSE. All three inconclusive samples tested negative using IHC.
"Earlier this week, USDA's Office of the Inspector General (OIG), which has been partnering with the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, the Food Safety and Inspection Service, and the Agricultural Research Service by impartially reviewing BSE-related activities and making recommendations for improvement, recommended that all three of these samples be subjected to a second internationally recognized confirmatory test, the OIE-recognized SAF immunoblot test, often referred to as the Western blot test. We received final results a short time ago. Of the three samples, two were negative, but the third came back reactive.
"Because of the conflicting results on the IHC and Western blot tests, a sample from this animal will be sent to the OIE-recognized reference laboratory for BSE in Weybridge, England. USDA will also be conducting further testing, which will take several days to complete.

[farmers_son]

The Western Blot test has never had a false positive in over 18 million tests. The cow in question would have tested positive twice with rapid tests and now positive with the Western Blot test. There would seem to be little doubt that the U.S. has their first domestic case of BSE.

[Willowcreek]

cowman- I agree with you that if it comes back positive, USDA loses all credibility and reliability...What makes this worse is that it was found by an Inspectors Generals Office audit, not by just a repeat test by their own people...Makes it look deceptive then, even if it wasn't...

[farmers_son]

There is an excellent question and answer session regarding the U.S. BSE positive cow at:

http://www.usda.gov/wps/portal/!ut/p/_s.7_0_A/7_0_1OB?contentidonly=true&contentid=2005/06/0207.xml

There are other instances where the IHC test has been negative and the Western Blot test positive. Rather than the credibility of the USDA being questioned, the ultimate question will be should we be using the IHC test, the Western Blot test, or some other test to confirm BSE positives.

And while most if not everyone on this side of the border believed the USDA was covering up their BSE positives, especially the November 2004 cow, the focus now should be on maintaining consumer confidence rather than pointing out what a bunch of scoundrels the Americans are.