Second case of mad cow disease in US confirmed

WASHINGTON - A second case of mad cow disease in the United States has been confirmed after tests, the US Agriculture Department said.

USDA said it was investigating where the animal with the brain-wasting disease originally came from. It also said meat from the infected cow was not sold to consumers or as animal feed.

"The presence of the disease is extremely low in the United States ... our safeguards are working exactly as they should," US Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns told a news conference.

Johanns also said he had directed USDA scientists to develop a new protocol to deal with "inconclusive" screening tests for bovine spongiform encephalopathy, or BSE.

He said the USDA would analyze how carcasses of suspect BSE cases are segregated and stored while being tested.

This second case of US mad cow disease first surfaced on June 10, when it was revealed that an older animal had tested positive for the brain-wasting disease after initially returning inconclusive results.

The previous US confirmed case of mad cow disease was found in December 2003 in a Washington state dairy cow.

That discovery halted billions of dollars worth of American beef exports and raised questions about the safety of the US food supply.

- REUTERS