Mad Cow update

WASHINGTON, DC, March 13, 2006 (ENS) - Mad cow disease has been found in the carcass of a cow from an Alabama farm, the third case of the fatal brain wasting disease to be detected in a U.S. animal.

The diseased cow did not enter the human or animal food chains, said U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Chief veterinary Medical Officer John Clifford in a statement today.

Despite the confirmation of a third case of mad cow disease in the U.S., the American government intends to scale back testing for the brain-wasting disorder blamed for the deaths of more than 150 people in Europe.