An Alabama cow has tested positive for BSE, giving the U.S. its second case of the brain-wasting disease, APHIS officials announced today.

USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service Chief Veterinary Officer John Clifford said the test was conducted in response to Friday's inconclusive bovine spongiform encephalopathy rapid screening test.

Clifford said the non-ambulatory Santa Gertrudis cow came from a farm in Alabama. A local private veterinarian euthanized the animal and took samples for BSE testing, initially conducted at the University of Georgia. The Western blot confirmatory test was conducted at the USDA laboratories in Ames, Iowa.

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The animal was buried on the farm, where it had lived for less than a year, and it did not enter the animal or human food chains. Although an exact age was not yet available, Clifford said the veterinarian estimated it to be upwards of 10 years old. "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," he said.

Clifford said he was not yet sure whether the cow was born in the U.S. or Canada. "We have to trace her back to the farm of origin. Talk to the owner of that farm about their records," he said. "It's highly unlikely any offspring have BSE," Clifford said. "As far as offspring, there's little science that says BSE is passed on to a calf while it's in the womb."

"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," Clifford said.

Tests are done on dead animals; there is no test for the disease in a live cow. The USDA tests animals that can't walk, have signs of nervous system disorder, are emaciated or injured, or have died.

In response to the first case in June 2005, the USDA increased its level of testing for the disease. As of today, 650,000 of the nation's estimated 95 million head of cattle have been tested.

The second U.S. BSE case comes on the heels of beef trade talks with Japan and South Korea. Because of its confidence in the safety of U.S. beef, the USDA doesn't see this positive case impacting trade talks.

"We hope this doesn't hurt any trade," Clifford said. "We have a number of safeguards in place. We are being transparent with our information in coming forward with this announcement today. We see no impact with our ongoing discussions with Japan."