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Jim Rogers (202) 690-4755

USDA Press Office (202) 720-4723

**Statement by USDA Chief Veterinary Officer John Clifford (DVM)**

**Regarding Positive BSE Test Results\
March 13, 2006**

"We received a positive result on a Western blot confirmatory test
conducted at the USDA laboratories in Ames, Iowa, on samples from an
animal that had tested "inconclusive" on a rapid screening test
performed on Friday, March 10.

"The samples were taken from a non-ambulatory animal on a farm in
Alabama. A local private veterinarian euthanized and sampled the animal
and sent the samples for further testing, which was conducted at one of
our contract diagnostic laboratories at the University of Georgia. The
animal was buried on the farm and it did not enter the animal or human
food chains.

"We are now working with Alabama animal health officials to conduct an
epidemiological investigation to gather any further information we can
on the herd of origin of this animal. The animal had only resided on the
most recent farm in Alabama for less than a year.

"We will be working to locate animals from this cow's birth cohort
(animals born in the same herd within one year of the affected animal)
and any offspring. We will also work with Food and Drug Administration
officials to determine any feed history that may be relevant to the
investigation. Experience worldwide has shown us that it is highly
unusual to find BSE in more than one animal in a herd or in an affected
animal's offspring. Nevertheless, all animals of interest will be tested
for BSE.

"Under USDA testing protocols, surveillance samples are sent to contract
laboratories for screening tests. If the sample is found to be
inconclusive on the screening test, it is then shipped to our National
Veterinary Services Laboratories (NVSL) in Ames, Iowa, for an additional
rapid test and two confirmatory tests: the immunohistochemistry (IHC)
test, which is conducted by APHIS scientists, and the Western blot test,
which is conducted by scientists with USDA's Agricultural Research
Service. USDA considers an animal positive for BSE if either of the two
confirmatory tests returns a positive result.

"In this instance, the inconclusive result from the contract lab in
Georgia was confirmed through a second rapid test at NVSL. Now, the
Western blot test has returned a positive result, and that is sufficient
for us to confirm this animal to be positive for BSE, which is why we
are making this announcement today. The IHC results are still pending
and we will release those results as soon as they are available, which
we expect to be later this week.

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"I want to emphasize that human and animal health in the United States
are protected by a system of interlocking safeguards, and that we remain
very confident in the safety of U.S. beef. Again, this animal did not
enter the human food or animal feed chains.

"While epidemiological work to determine the animal's precise age is
just getting underway and is ongoing, the attending veterinarian has
indicated that, based on dentition, it was an older animal, quite
possibly upwards of 10 years of age. This would indicate that this
animal would have been born prior to the implementation of the Food and
Drug Administration's 1997 feed ban. Older animals are more likely to
have been exposed to contaminated feed circulating before the FDA's 1997
ban on ruminant-to-ruminant feeding practices, which scientific research
has indicated is the most likely route for BSE transmission.

"By any measure, the incidence of BSE in this country is extremely low.
Our enhanced surveillance program was designed as a one-time snapshot to
provide information about the level of prevalence of BSE in the United
States. We have conducted surveillance in the United States since 1990
and following the initial positive in December 2003, we developed an
enhanced surveillance program. Since June 2004, all sectors of the
cattle industry have cooperated in this program by submitting samples
from more than 650,000 animals from the highest risk populations and
more than 20,000 from clinically normal, older animals, as part our
enhanced BSE surveillance program. To date, including the animal in
today's announcement, only two of these highest risk animals have tested
positive for the disease as part of the enhanced surveillance program.

"As we approach the conclusion of our enhanced surveillance program, let
me offer a few thoughts regarding surveillance going forward. I can
assure you that we will continue to base our maintenance surveillance
testing on international guidelines. Though the nature and extent of
maintenance surveillance has not yet been finalized, the incidence of
BSE in this country remains extremely low and our interlocking
safeguards are working to protect both human and animal health and we
remain very confident in the safety of U.S. beef.

"As we move forward with the epidemiological investigation that has been
initiated today into this case of BSE, we will continue to be very
transparent in sharing information with the public and with our trading
partners around the world."

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