031257 U.S. States Remain Open to Washington Beef

Washington - The U.S. government said on Friday its investigation into the country's first outbreak of the deadly mad cow disease could broaden beyond Washington state, but the rest of the United States remains open to beef imports from the Pacific Northwest state.

Ron DeHaven, the USDA's chief veterinarian, told reporters on Friday "potentially many states could be involved" in the department's probe of how a four-year-old Holstein cow contracted the first U.S. case of mad cow disease.

The animal was slaughtered on Dec. 9 and the USDA announced on Tuesday it was infected with the brain-wasting disease, also known as bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE).

USDA officials are trying to trace the source of the animal's feed, the most likely agent for spreading the deadly infection. The disease is believed to be contracted by cattle when they eat livestock feed that contains the infected remains of other cattle.

Nevada on Friday lifted its ban on shipments of live dairy cows from Washington state, state veterinarian David Thain said. The state also examined the records of all dairy cattle shipped from Washington during the past five years.

"We put a ban on the importation of dairy cows only and now we have released it," Thain said. "We had pressure from the USDA that it was unnecessary."

Colorado's Department of Agriculture lifted a ban on Washington state cattle and beef on Wednesday, a spokeswoman said.

Mike Everett, a spokesman for the Idaho Department of Agriculture, said his state was taking a wait-and- see approach before making any decisions to close its borders to cattle and beef from its neighbor to the west.

"We think it is critical to do it right and not panic anybody," Everett said. "We are waiting for the Feds to finish their investigation."

Nebraska, one of the biggest U.S. beef producing states, said it did not close its border to Washington state cattle or beef.

"We have not felt the need to halt (Washington) imports and do anything beyond the actions of the Department of Agriculture's quarantine," said Greg Ibach, assistant director for the Nebraska Department of Agriculture. "We are anxious to see what USDA's investigation finds."

Nebraska receives a "negligible" amount of beef from Washington, he added.

California, a major dairy and agricultural state, said it did not plan to take any special precautions.

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