AR-News: (US) USDA did not test possible mad cows

[Animalconcerns]

WASHINGTON, June 8 (UPI) -- The U.S. Department of Agriculture claims it
tested 500 cows with signs of a brain disorder for mad cow disease last
year, but agency documents obtained by United Press International show
the agency tested only half that number.

USDA officials said the difference is made up in animals tested at state
veterinary diagnostic laboratories, but these animals were not tested
using the "gold standard" test employed by the agency for confirming a
case of the deadly disease. Instead, the state labs used a less sensitive
test that experts say could miss mad cow cases.

In addition, the state lab figures were not included in a March 2004 USDA
document estimating the number of animals most likely to be infected
among U.S. herds, and apparently were not given to a congressional
committee that had requested agency data on the number of cows with brain
disorder signs that had been tested for the disease.

"This is just adding to the demise of USDA's credibility," said Felicia
Nestor, senior policy adviser to the Government Accountability Project, a
group in Washington, D.C., that works with federal whistleblowers, told
UPI.

"If the USDA is going to exclude from testing the animals most likely to
have the disease, that would seem to have a very negative impact on the
reliability of their conclusion," said Nestor, who has closely monitored
the USDA's mad cow surveillance program for several years.

"Are they deliberately avoiding testing animals that look like they have
the disease?" she added.

full story:
http://www.upi.com/view.cfm?StoryID=20040608-014607-3865r

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