Wichita — Five of the nation's testing laboratories for mad cow -- including one at Kansas State University that will test Kansas and Missouri samples -- are awaiting approval from the Agriculture Department to begin testing, even though staff and equipment are in place.
M. Chengappa, director of the diagnostic laboratory at K-State, said Friday his lab had been ready to begin testing mad cow samples for two or three months.
"I understand the complexity of some of these issues, but I still have impatience," Chengappa said. "I cannot afford to lose my patience, because I understand the problem."
Chengappa said he expected to hear soon from the Agriculture Department. USDA is deciding which company it will buy the testing kits from to supply the five laboratories.
"The reason we waited in regard to the extra five labs is we wanted to make certain to competitively bid the tests we were using," said Andrea Morgan, associate deputy administrator of the department's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
Morgan said Friday that it would be another few months before a test was selected for the five laboratories.
The inspection service then wants to make sure the labs are adequately trained to use the tests so the agency is confident with test results, she said.
K-State's lab was one of five selected in May by the inspection service. The new labs are to work with seven others that already are doing some testing.
As of Thursday, the inspection service had tested 120,000 samples in those labs under its expanded mad cow surveillance program. Confirmatory testing also is done at the the inspection service's National Veterinary Services Laboratories.
Morgan said the inspection service thought having seven labs currently testing was sufficient, giving the government time to get competitive bids for the rapid tests that would be used by the remaining labs.
"All the other five labs approved in the second round are in the same boat," Chengappa said. "I don't know what is the delay."
When it begins operating, K-State could be testing as many as 20 samples a day from Kansas and Missouri cattle, Chengappa said.
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