UN Says Mad Cow Tests Working, Despite Outbreaks

UN Says Mad Cow Tests Working, Despite Outbreaks

Mon Feb 7,12:02 PM ET
Health - Reuters


UN Says Mad Cow Tests Working, Despite Outbreaks

Mon Feb 7,12:02 PM ET Health - Reuters


By Robin Pomeroy

ROME (Reuters) - Testing for mad cow disease is working in catching cases of the lethal brain-wasting disorder, the United Nations said on Monday, in the wake of several new discoveries of BSE-related cases.

An outbreak in Canadian cattle, the first incidence of a goat with the disorder and Japan's first death from the human variant, prompted the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization to release a statement aimed at allaying fears.

"The three cases in Canada and the one case in the US from an imported animal are isolated incidents," said FAO animal production expert Andrew Speedy. "These cases were detected because of the testing procedures that are now in place."