29th Suspected Case of Mad Cow in Japan
Pastor Dale Morgan
29th Suspected Case of Mad Cow in Japan*
The Associated Press
Tuesday, September 26, 2006; 8:04 AM
TOKYO -- A cow in northern Japan is suspected of having the country's
29th case of mad cow disease, an official said Tuesday.
Preliminary tests on the animal at the Ishikari Livestock Hygiene
Service Center in Hokkaido prefecture on Japan's northernmost main
island were positive, said Hokkaido official Hiroyuki Takeuchi. Final
test results could be known by the end of this week, he said.
The cow died at a ranch and was brought to the hygiene center for
initial testing.
To date, Japan has confirmed 28 animals infected with the fatal illness
_ known formally as bovine spongiform encephalopathy, or BSE _ since the
first case in Japan was defected in 2001. Since then, Tokyo has begun
taking steps to check every cow that is slaughtered or dies at ranches
before it enters the food supply.
Japan banned imports of American beef in December 2003 after the first
case of mad cow disease in the United States. That ban was eased in
December 2005, but was re-imposed after prohibited spinal bones were
found in a shipment of veal in January.
In July, Japan eased the ban, with U.S. beef hitting some retailers'
shelves the following month. Earlier this month, Yoshinoya D&C Co., a
major Japanese fast-food chain, returned a popular rice dish topped with
U.S. beef that was off the menu for more than two years due to mad cow
scares.