Rense.com




USDA Serves Up
Confusion On
New BSE Report

From Dr. Patricia Doyle, PhD
dr_p_doyle@hotmail.com
6-26-4
 
Hello, Jeff - I never heard so much "bunk" in my life as the statements below. We discussed the fact on the program that test results would be termed "inconclusive" and the public would be "put at ease" by the USDA.
 
And...Why not let us know where the "inconclusive" test results were found? Not to worry, the cow did not enter the human food chain, so they say!
 
We can all trust the USDA, certified "honest!"
 
Patty
 
"The inconclusive result does not mean we have found another case of BSE in this country," Clifford said. "Inconclusive results are a normal component of most screening tests, which are designed to be extremely sensitive so they will detect any sample that could possibly be positive. The USDA remains confident in the safety of the food supply," Clifford said.
 
BSE, BOVINE - USA: SUSPECTED
 
A ProMED-mail post ProMED-mail, a program of the International Society for Infectious Diseases http://www.isid.org
 
Source: The Daily News - Longview, Washington
 
An animal in the United States tested positive in a preliminary screening test for mad cow disease, US Department of Agriculture officials said Friday.
 
John Clifford, deputy administrator of USDA veterinary services, said officials learned of the "inconclusive" test result at 5:30 p.m. Friday.
 
The carcass is being sent to USDA National Veterinary Laboratory in Ames, Iowa, for additional tests. Results are expected in 4 to 7 days.[More likely it is just a brain tissue sample that is being sent to the NVSL. - Mod.TG]
 
Clifford declined to identify the animal or its location until testing is complete, noting that it's "very likely" final testing could turn up negative.
 
"The animal in question didn't enter the food chain," he said. "If positive, we'll provide additional information on the animal and origins."
 
If the animal tests positive, it would be the second case of mad cow discovered in the United States. In December 2003, a single Holstein on a Washington state farm was found to have the disease, prompting more than 50 countries to ban imports of U.S. beef. Japan and South Korea, 2 of the biggest export markets for U.S. beef, still have their bans in effect despite the efforts of American officials to get them lifted.
 
The Agriculture Department this month expanded national testing for the disease in response to that mad cow scare, leading to Friday's 1st "inconclusive" reading in the preliminary test, officials said. More than 7000 animals so far have been tested under the program, which seeks to check about 220 000 animals over the next year to 18 months.
 
The announcement came late Friday and officials sought to downplay the potential gravity of the preliminary result, which they said wasn't unexpected given the test's sensitivity. The United States' beef trading partners had been notified and the company was given earlier notice, Clifford said.
 
"The inconclusive result does not mean we have found another case of BSE in this country," Clifford said. "Inconclusive results are a normal component of most screening tests, which are designed to be extremely sensitive so they will detect any sample that could possibly be positive. The USDA remains confident in the safety of the food supply," Clifford said.
 
Representatives from the U.S. beef industry also sought to emphasize there was no reason to worry at this initial stage.
 
"We hope that the U.S. consumers will recognize that the United States has among the most stringent BSE safeguards in place," said Bill Bullard, chief executive officer of R-CALF USA, a cattlemen's group. "We are encouraging the public to recognize that this is an inconclusive test result."
 
Mad cow disease -- known also as bovine spongiform encephalopathy, or BSE -- eats holes in the brains of cattle. It sprang up in Britain in 1986 and spread through countries in Europe and Asia, prompting massive destruction of herds and decimating the European beef industry.
 
A form of mad cow disease can be contracted by humans if they eat infected beef or nerve tissue, and possibly through blood transfusions. Variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, the human form of mad cow disease, so far has killed 100 people in Britain and elsewhere, including a Florida woman this week who was believed to have contracted the disease in England.
 
The government conducted mad cow tests in 2003 on tissues from 20 543 animals, virtually all of them cattle that could not stand or walk and had to be dragged to slaughter. After the nation's 1st case in December 2003, the USDA initially doubled the number of animals to be tested this year to 40 000.
 
With many foreign governments still reluctant to ease bans on U.S. beef, the testing program was expanded at a cost of $70 million to include as many as 220 000 slaughtered animals, following recommendations from an international scientific review panel. About 35 million head of cattle are slaughtered each year in the United States.
 
http://www.tdn.com/articles/2004/06/26/nation_world/news04.txt
 
ProMED-mail promed@promedmail.org
 
(More information from authoritative sources would be appreciated. At present, information on the background of the bovine involved, whether it was a downer, what its age was, and whether there were identified risk factors is not known. This information could be given without identifying information to preserve the confidentiality of origins in the event the reference laboratory testing is negative for BSE. - Mods.TG/MPP)
 
 
Patricia A. Doyle, PhD Please visit my "Emerging Diseases" message board at: http://www.clickitnews.com/ubbthreads/postlist.php?
Cat=&Board=emergingdiseases Zhan le Devlesa tai sastimasa Go with God and in Good Health


Disclaimer






MainPage
http://www.rense.com


This Site Served by TheHostPros