WASHINGTON, June 10 (Xinhuanet) -- The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) said Friday it is checking a possible new case of mad cow disease, with additional tests to be done for confirmation.

    The possible new case, in a beef cow, is one of the three suspected animals that were previously tested negative for mad cow disease. They were tested again with a different technology at the request of the USDA's Inspector General who was reviewing the department's mad cow testing program. The results showed one animal tested positive.

    The meat of the animal that tested positive did not enter the food or feed chain, said Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns.

    The suspected sample is being subjected to additional tests, the department said.

    The only US confirmed case of mad cow disease was found in December 2003 in a Washington state dairy cow, which was imported from Canada.

    People eating animal meat products contaminated with mad cow disease, or bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), can develop a human variant of the fatal brain-wasting disease, called Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. The brain disorder has killed more than150 people, mostly in Britain, where an outbreak was reported in the 1990s. Enditem