Officials announced over the weekend that Japan has found its 10th case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE). Since the first infected animal was found in 2001, the country has instituted a test-every-animal program that has turned up more cases. The country processes about 1.9 million head of cattle annually.
The 7-year, 11-month-old Holstein tested positive at a slaughterhouse outside Tokyo on Friday and was later confirmed in follow-up testing at a national laboratory Saturday. This latest case will do little to quell fears over BSE and potential issues concerning imports of beef from the United States.
Japan closed its doors to U.S. beef after the Dec. 23 announcement of a single case of BSE in Washington state. While U.S. negotiators have been traveling to Japan to talk about the issue, the country has called for more widespread testing of beef before import restrictions are lifted.