NoBlood

http://www.medpagetoday.com/tb1/Publ...licHealth/1247

Second Mad Cow Case Triggers Beefed-Up Testing


WASHINGTON, June 24-Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns said his agency is immediately beefing-up its surveillance testing program in response to a confirmed a second U.S. case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), which is commonly called mad cow disease.

Secretary Johanns said the BSE infected animal did not enter the food supply and he said Americans "have every reason to continue to be confident in the safety of our beef."

Reports about a second case of BSE surfaced earlier this month but initial testing was inconclusive. The U.S. Agriculture Department said that tests from the Veterinary Laboratories Agency in Weybridge, England, confirmed BSE.

Johanns said that effective immediately, if another BSE rapid screening test results in inconclusive findings, the USDA will run both an immunohistochemistry and Western blot confirmatory test. If results from either confirmatory test are positive, the sample will be considered positive for BSE.

He said that the U.S. currently tests 1,000 animals a day as part of an intensified BSE surveillance program.

__________________
Mr. Jan B. Wade
Blood Management Consultant
Enhance Outcomes - Control Cost
For Information Call - 360 296-1807
Email