Questions On BSE Infected Cow Remain Unanswered By USDA Average reader rating: 0
Today 6/24/2005 6:42:00 PM
Questions On BSE Infected Cow Remain Unanswered By USDA
WASHINGTON (Dow Jones)--Questions about the second cow to test positive for bovine spongiform encephalopathy in the U.S., such as the animal's origin and how and where it was infected, remain unanswered after an hour-long press conference here Friday.
U.S. Department of Agriculture officials said the infected animal had been delivered to a "4D" facility that processes dead, dying, diseased or downer cattle that are not fit for human consumption, but they did not say where that facility was located.
Other than the fact that the "beef cow" in question was a downer, meaning it was too sick or injured to walk, USDA Secretary Mike Johanns said: "We're just not going to confirm anything about the animal until we get the
(epidemiological) work done. I hope you understand we want to be very, very careful about that."
John Clifford, deputy administrator for veterinary services at USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Services, said one person has told the USDA which herd the infected animal came from, but the USDA wants scientific confirmation before releasing the information.
"We want to be sure, so we're doing DNA testing," Clifford said.
Confirming the herd the animal came from, he said, is necessary to discover what types of feed the animal consumed and where it came from "and any other possible explanations for how the animal would have gotten BSE."
USDA scientists believe that cattle are infected with BSE, also known as mad-cow disease, through tainted feed. And USDA officials have stressed that the infected animal in question was born and likely infected before the U.S.
began a feed ban to protect cattle from infection.
The U.S. began barring the use of bovine material in cattle feed in 1997.
Although Johanns and Clifford didn't divulge details about the cow's origin, specifics were given about the disease.
Clifford said: "The molecular protein patterns of this particular BSE case were very much like some that have been found in France, not those found typically in the U.K."
That he said distinguishes it from the first case of BSE found in a dairy cow in Washington state in December, 2003. In that case, he said, "the molecular banding ... was typical of what you would have found in the cases in the U.K."
USDA officials said the BSE-positive cow found in Washington state had been born and likely infected in Canada before being sent to the U.S. In this latest case, officials have not yet said if the animal was imported or native to the U.S.
Source: Dow Jones
This dna testing should have been done months ago,will we see alot of stone walling ,buying time till its this is a non issuse ?..................good luck
Today 6/24/2005 6:42:00 PM
Questions On BSE Infected Cow Remain Unanswered By USDA
WASHINGTON (Dow Jones)--Questions about the second cow to test positive for bovine spongiform encephalopathy in the U.S., such as the animal's origin and how and where it was infected, remain unanswered after an hour-long press conference here Friday.
U.S. Department of Agriculture officials said the infected animal had been delivered to a "4D" facility that processes dead, dying, diseased or downer cattle that are not fit for human consumption, but they did not say where that facility was located.
Other than the fact that the "beef cow" in question was a downer, meaning it was too sick or injured to walk, USDA Secretary Mike Johanns said: "We're just not going to confirm anything about the animal until we get the
(epidemiological) work done. I hope you understand we want to be very, very careful about that."
John Clifford, deputy administrator for veterinary services at USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Services, said one person has told the USDA which herd the infected animal came from, but the USDA wants scientific confirmation before releasing the information.
"We want to be sure, so we're doing DNA testing," Clifford said.
Confirming the herd the animal came from, he said, is necessary to discover what types of feed the animal consumed and where it came from "and any other possible explanations for how the animal would have gotten BSE."
USDA scientists believe that cattle are infected with BSE, also known as mad-cow disease, through tainted feed. And USDA officials have stressed that the infected animal in question was born and likely infected before the U.S.
began a feed ban to protect cattle from infection.
The U.S. began barring the use of bovine material in cattle feed in 1997.
Although Johanns and Clifford didn't divulge details about the cow's origin, specifics were given about the disease.
Clifford said: "The molecular protein patterns of this particular BSE case were very much like some that have been found in France, not those found typically in the U.K."
That he said distinguishes it from the first case of BSE found in a dairy cow in Washington state in December, 2003. In that case, he said, "the molecular banding ... was typical of what you would have found in the cases in the U.K."
USDA officials said the BSE-positive cow found in Washington state had been born and likely infected in Canada before being sent to the U.S. In this latest case, officials have not yet said if the animal was imported or native to the U.S.
Source: Dow Jones
This dna testing should have been done months ago,will we see alot of stone walling ,buying time till its this is a non issuse ?..................good luck
