Preliminary tests showed that three or four cows screened in Tokyo and Aichi Prefecture indicated the presence of mad cow disease, and a second test was being conducted to confirm the initial results, authorities said Friday.
Should the animals test positive in the second round of testing -- whose results are expected as early as today -- a third and final test will be conducted by a group of experts from the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry, as stipulated under new nationwide screening procedures introduced Thursday.
Of the cows in question, two were checked at the Tokyo Central Meat Wholesale Market and are being tested at an inspection center in Yokohama, while the other one or two are being tested again in Kobe.