Federal officials scrambled to trace the life of the first US cow believed infected with mad cow disease while trying to contain the growing economic damage from a now-suspect food supply.
"The risk to human life is extremely low," Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman said Wednesday, even as country after country slapped import bans on American beef.
On Wall Street, stocks in meatpacking companies and restaurant chains took a hit. Among the losers: McDonald's Corp, Wendy's International and Tyson Foods.
US beef exports totaled US$2.6 billion last year, with Japan, South Korea, Mexico and Hong Kong the biggest importers. They all have banned US beef, along with at least seven other countries.
Federal and state-level officials worked to trace the diseased Holstein's history until it arrived at Sunny Dene Ranch in Mabton, Washington, in 2001. Agriculture Department chief veterinarian Ron DeHaven said officials have identified two livestock markets in Washington where the animal could have been purchased.
Because the brain-wasting disease is usually transmitted through contaminated feed and has an incubation period of four to five years, it is "important to focus on the feed where she was born," DeHaven said.
"Once we have the birth herd, we'll want to know what animals have come into that herd and what animals have left that herd and all the feeding practices for that herd," DeHaven said.
The human form of the disease, variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob, is thought to be contracted by eating meat from an infected animal, specifically from the brain or spinal cord. Officials stressed that these parts of the sick cow were removed before the rest of the carcass was sent to processing plants.
Agriculture Department officials told a briefing the cow was culled from its herd and slaughtered Dec. 9, after she became paralyzed, apparently as a result of calving. Preliminary tests showed the cow, believed to be about 5 years old, had mad cow disease.
Tissue samples were sent to Britain's Veterinary Laboratories Agencies, a world leader in mad cow identification, for confirmation.
"We should have a result within a few hours of the initial test," said Steven Edwards, chief executive of the lab in Weybridge, near London.
BSE was first identified in 1986 in Britain, which suffered the brunt of mad cow disease over the past decade. It still has the highest number of positive tests. Spain, France, Denmark, Ireland and Portugal have also reported significant numbers of cases.
Politically, Democrats jumped on Republicans who removed a US ban on processing meat from "downed" animals -- those that are ill when they reach the plant -- from a massive agriculture spending bill.
"This is something that's a potential disaster," said Democratic Representative Gary Ackerman, a leader in supporting the processing prohibition. "This was so predictable by anybody following the issue."
Contaminated feed has been blamed in other countries for carrying the misshapen animal proteins, called prions, that can transmit mad cow disease. The US since August 1997 has banned the use of cow and sheep byproducts for animal feed.
The animal was one of 20 slaughtered on Dec. 9 at Vern's Moses Lake Meat Co in Moses Lake, Washington.
The beef industry sought to reassure Americans.
"It's important to recognize what we learned from Canadian consumers," Terry Stokes, CEO of the National Cattlemen's Beef Association, told reporters. "They had confidence in Canadian beef and we feel American consumers will follow accordingly."
Canada had an isolated case of mad cow disease earlier this year. The US banned imports of Canadian beef immediately after that announcement but has gradually begun allowing them.
Investigators are trying to determine whether the case in Canada is linked, a USDA official said, but a connection is unlikely because the animals were of different breeds.
OPTIMISTIC: A Philippine Air Force spokeswoman said the military believed the crew were safe and were hopeful that they and the jet would be recovered A Philippine Air Force FA-50 jet and its two-person crew are missing after flying in support of ground forces fighting communist rebels in the southern Mindanao region, a military official said yesterday. Philippine Air Force spokeswoman Colonel Consuelo Castillo said the jet was flying “over land” on the way to its target area when it went missing during a “tactical night operation in support of our ground troops.” While she declined to provide mission specifics, Philippine Army spokesman Colonel Louie Dema-ala confirmed that the missing FA-50 was part of a squadron sent “to provide air support” to troops fighting communist rebels in
PROBE: Last week, Romanian prosecutors launched a criminal investigation against presidential candidate Calin Georgescu accusing him of supporting fascist groups Tens of thousands of protesters gathered in Romania’s capital on Saturday in the latest anti-government demonstration by far-right groups after a top court canceled a presidential election in the EU country last year. Protesters converged in front of the government building in Bucharest, waving Romania’s tricolor flags and chanting slogans such as “down with the government” and “thieves.” Many expressed support for Calin Georgescu, who emerged as the frontrunner in December’s canceled election, and demanded they be resumed from the second round. George Simion, the leader of the far-right Alliance for the Unity of Romanians (AUR), which organized the protest,
ECONOMIC DISTORTION? The US commerce secretary’s remarks echoed Elon Musk’s arguments that spending by the government does not create value for the economy US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick on Sunday said that government spending could be separated from GDP reports, in response to questions about whether the spending cuts pushed by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency could possibly cause an economic downturn. “You know that governments historically have messed with GDP,” Lutnick said on Fox News Channel’s Sunday Morning Futures. “They count government spending as part of GDP. So I’m going to separate those two and make it transparent.” Doing so could potentially complicate or distort a fundamental measure of the US economy’s health. Government spending is traditionally included in the GDP because
Hundreds of people in rainbow colors gathered on Saturday in South Africa’s tourist magnet Cape Town to honor the world’s first openly gay imam, who was killed last month. Muhsin Hendricks, who ran a mosque for marginalized Muslims, was shot dead last month near the southern city of Gqeberha. “I was heartbroken. I think it’s sad especially how far we’ve come, considering how progressive South Africa has been,” attendee Keisha Jensen said. Led by motorcycle riders, the mostly young crowd walked through the streets of the coastal city, some waving placards emblazoned with Hendricks’s image and reading: “#JUSTICEFORMUHSIN.” No arrest
RSS