MAD COW DISEASE

Possible case of mad cow investigated The government is investigating another possible case of mad cow disease, the Agriculture Department said Wednesday. Testing indicated the presence of the disease in a cow that died on the farm where it lived, said John Clifford, the department's chief veterinarian. The department would not say where the farm was. The cow was at least 12 years old and died of complications during calving, Clifford said. In the latest case, the cow died on the farm where it lived, and a private veterinarian removed brain tissue for sampling, Clifford said. However, testing options are limited in this case. Because the farm was remote, the private veterinarian who removed a brain sample used a substance to preserve the tissue. That means that only one type of testing, immunohistochemistry, or IHC, can be done, the official said. The animal died in April, but the veterinarian forgot to send the sample to USDA until this month, Clifford said....
New BSE Case May Pressure Futures, Cash Cattle Prices The latest "non-definitive" test results for a case of domestic bovine spongiform encephalopathy, or mad-cow disease, announced by the U.S. Department of Agriculture Wednesday afternoon is expected to pressure futures and cash prices for the next few days while the market assesses consumer reaction to the news. U.S. consumers didn't react to the first two cases of BSE found in the U.S., and Richard Nelson, market analyst for Allendale Inc., in McHenry, Ill., doesn't think they would pay much attention to this case. They might, however, recoil if the U.S. ever has a case where the disease has spread to humans, he said. Cory Hall, president and market analyst at Broker Professionals in Des Moines, Iowa, said he expected the cattle markets to react more strongly to this test result than to the last one. In that case, the U.S. retested and found to be positive for BSE a cow that was tested originally in November and cleared of the disease....
South Dakota governor urged to block imports of Canadian cattle Republican Gov. Mike Rounds should follow the lead of his predecessor and close the state border to cattle from Canada, a potential political opponent said Wednesday. Ron Volesky of Huron, who plans to seek the 2006 Democratic nomination for governor, said the recent reopening of the United States border to Canadian cattle and beef products has put South Dakota's cattle herds at risk of infection from mad cow disease. In a letter to Rounds, Volesky noted that former Gov. Bill Janklow took the bold step of closing the South Dakota border to Canadian products in September 1998. Janklow orchestrated a three-week, inspection blockade of Canadian grain and livestock to protest trade practices that the four-term GOP governor said were unfair. He lifted the ban when U.S. and Canadian officials agreed to hold trade talks. Resumption of cattle imports from Canada calls for drastic action to protect South Dakota's cattle industry, Volesky told The Associated Press....

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