The public should be prepared for more inconclusive BSE, or mad
cow disease, reports because of expanded testing launched June 1
by the USDA. David Smith and David Steffen, University of
Nebraska veterinary scientists, say the larger sampling of
animals in the USDA's expanded BSE surveillance testing will
result in more inconclusive findings from initial rapid
screening. As of Tuesday June 29, 8,585 cattle had been screened
since June 1. "Anytime you expand testing, you are bound to have
more tests that are inconclusive," Smith says. On June 25, USDA
announced that an animal produced an inconclusive instead of
negative result in initial screening for bovine spongiform
encephalopathy, or BSE. Late on June 29, USDA announced a second
inconclusive result from initial screening. In both instances,
further tests are being conducted at USDA's National Veterinary
Laboratory in Ames, Iowa. Cattle futures prices fell sharply
June 28 in response to the previous Friday's announcement, but
rebounded somewhat on June 29.