MAD COW DISEASE

U.S. Says Finds Negative Result to Mad Cow Test

A suspect animal tested negative for mad cow disease in a second round of testing, the U.S. Agriculture Department said on Wednesday.

The additional tests were ordered after an inconclusive or possible positive test was found last Friday in an animal sent to slaughter.

"That particular result is negative for BSE (news - web sites) on confirmatory testing," John Clifford, the department's chief veterinarian, told reporters. BSE stands for the formal name of mad cow disease, bovine spongiform encephalopathy.

The department has cautioned that its new rapid tests to detect the brain-wasting disease are likely to produce false positives.

The department refused to disclose any details about the animal's age, sex or location. "If we do have a positive animal, we would be releasing information on those," Clifford said.

Clifford noted that the department was still awaiting the results of a second round of testing for another animal that produced an "inconclusive" test on Tuesday.

"No matter how the result comes back, USDA remains confident of the safety of the U.S. food supply," he said.

As of Monday, the department reported 8,585 negative tests for animals sent to slaughter this month.

Japanese Review U.S. Mad Cow Precautions

A delegation of Japanese officials toured northern Colorado packing plants and feedlots this week to review precautions against mad cow disease.

Japan bought about $1.2 billion in U.S. beef annually until mad cow was discovered in a cow in Washington state in December, prompting Japan to suspend U.S. beef imports.

American government and industry officials are anxious to convince Japan that sufficient safeguards are in place to keep the disease out of the food supply.

The 14-member Japanese delegation was meeting with American scientists and officials from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Members of the Japanese group declined comment. USDA spokesman Ed Loyd said the two sides were discussing mad cow disease, but he declined to offer specifics....

2nd possible mad cow case found

The Agriculture Department late Tuesday received a second "inconclusive" preliminary test indicating a carcass showing signs of mad cow disease, but officials cautioned the test is so sensitive it does not mean another case has been found.

It's the second such discovery in five days as part of the government's rapid screening program. The only confirmed mad cow case in this country was discovered in Washington state last December, prompting more sophisticated screening programs.

Tissue samples from the cow in the latest case were being sent to the department's National Veterinary Services Laboratories in Ames, Iowa, so more conclusive tests can be run.

Federal officials emphasized the rapid screening tests - more than 7,000 have been conducted - are extremely sensitive and in themselves do not confirm a case of brain-wasting mad cow disease, also known as bovine spongiform encephalopathy, or BSE....