BSE and nvCJD and zoo cases by year and country
France to ban all animal-based feed
BSE test for all older cattle in the EU
Italy's health minister says people should eat without fear
Human vaccine prepared in animal brains
UK government efforts to sabotage Dealler
British embargo on French beef sought
3rd lion dies of BSE
Windfall profits for US soybean exports?
11 Nov 00 data. See Jan Braakman site for most recent updates
| 1987 | 1988 | 1989 | 1990 | 1991 | 1992 | 1993 | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | Total | |
| UK [a] | 446 | 2514 | 7228 | 14407 | 25359 | 37280 | 35090 | 24436 | 14562 | 8149 | 4393 | 3235 | 2157 | 1067 | na |
| Britain [b] | 442 | 2184 | 7137 | 14181 | 25032 | 36682 | 34370 | 23945 | 14302 | 8016 | 4312 | 3179 | 2254 | 1053[b] | 177416 |
| N Ireland [a] | 0 | 3 | 30 | 100 | 170 | 332 | 497 | 363 | 170 | 81 | 28 | 18 | 6 | 13 | 1801 |
| Belgium[c] | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 3 | 8 | 18 |
| Danmark[d] | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1* | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| France [e] | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 12 | 6 | 18 | 31 | 96 [e] | 176 |
| Ireland [f] | 0 | 0 | 15 | 14 | 17 | 18 | 16 | 19 | 16 | 74 | 80 | 83 | 96 | 90 | 538 |
| Liechtenstein | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Luxembourg | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Netherland [g] | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 [g] | 2 | 0 | 6 |
| Portugal [h] | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1* | 1* | 1* | 3 * | 12 | 14 | 29 | 30 | 106 | 170 | 99 [h] | 458 |
| Switzerland [i] | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 15 | 29 | 63 | 68 | 45 | 38 | 14 | 50 | 31 [i] | 360 |
| Canada | 1* | 1 | |||||||||||||
| Falklands | 1* | 1 | |||||||||||||
| Germany | 1* | 3* | 2* | 6 | |||||||||||
| Italy | 2* | 2 | |||||||||||||
| Oman | 2* | 2 | |||||||||||||
| Total (excl UK) | 0 | 0 | 18 | 16 | 32 | 36 | 50 | 103 | 101 | 159 | 160 | 231 | 350 | 323 | na |
* = imported case na = not available [+] United States: last reported case 1985, Stetsonville, Wisconsin, detected in mink fed downer dairy, not scrapie, not British BSE. [a] United Kingdom (source OIE), Isle of Man, Jersey and Guernsey: Data Sept 2000 (source: BSE Inquiry report); Northern Ireland: data as at 29 Sept 2000, source Dept of Agt and Rural Dev., Northern Ireland [b] Great Britain: 81 slaughtered cases still under examination. Data as at 27 Octob 2000 (source: MAFF) [c] Belgium Last case 20 Oct 2000 [d] Denmark: Last case 25 Feb 2000; excluding 2 exported cases, detected, diagnosed and confirmed in Portugal and Ireland, resp. [e] France: import data 11 Nov 00 imports excluding exported cases to Portugal and Ireland * 37 of the cases were detected by Prionics BSE test * three additional cases, reported by Agence France Press, not yet confirmed by Ag Ministry imports including 1 imported case from Switzerland. [f] Ireland: Including imported cases from Denmark, France, UK and Netherlands. Data as at 6 Oct 2000 [g] Netherlands: excluding exported cases; detected, diagnosed and confirmed in UK and Ireland; last case: 10 Mar 1999 [h] Portugal: Including 2 imported cases in 2000: 1 from Denmark, 1 from France. Portugese authoroties consider these cases technically as not Portugese. Data as at 30 Sept 2000 [i] Switzerland: data as at 1 Nov 2000; 14 cases detected by Prionics test; excluding 1 exported case to France
| Referrals | Sporadic | Iatrogenic | familial | alive | dead | nvCJD | Year Total | |
| 1985 | - | 26 | 1 | 1 | - | 28 | ||
| 1986 | - | 26 | 0 | 0 | - | 26 | ||
| 1987 | - | 23 | 0 | 1 | - | 24 | ||
| 1988 | - | 22 | 1 | 1 | - | 24 | ||
| 1989 | - | 28 | 2 | 2 | - | 32 | ||
| 1990 | 53 | 28 | 5 | 0 | - | 33 | ||
| 1991 | 75 | 32 | 1 | 3 | - | 36 | ||
| 1992 | 96 | 43 | 2 | 6 | - | 51 | ||
| 1993 | 78 | 38 | 4 | 4 | - | 46 | ||
| 1994 | 116 | 51 | 1 | 7 | - | 59 | ||
| 1995 | 87 | 35 | 4 | 5 | - | 3 | 47 | |
| 1996 | 134 | 40 | 4 | 6 | - | 10 | 60 | |
| 1997 | 161 | 59 | 6 | 5 | - | 10 | 80 | |
| 1998 | 154 | 63 | 3 | 4 | - | 18 | 88 | |
| 1999 | 169 | 61 | 6 | 2 | - | - | 15 | 83 |
| 2000 | 151 | 30 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 21 | 60 |
Table shows UK data. Ireland has 1 case; France 3 cases: 2 confirmed, 1 alive, first case was probable iatrogenic nvCJD (body-builder who injected bovine pituitary extract); US has 4-5 anomalous cases not confirmed as nvCJD.
Names of two French victims have been put in the public domain:
-- Laurence Duhamel, who died at the age of 36 in February 1999
-- Arnaud Eboli, 19, still alive 15 Nov 00
The three columns for nvCJD: confirmed but still alive, confirmed and deceased but no autopsy yet, and fully confirmed and deceased (includes 7 probable deaths from nvCJD where neuropathological confirmation will never be possible).
Data to 3 November 2000 (29 cases in 10 months, projecting to 35 for full year). Total number of definite and probable cases of nvCJD = 85. The next table will be published on Monday 4th December 2000.
Id TSE Genus Species Subsp Birth Origin Death Place of Death 654 x Microcebus murinus - 1997 U.Montpellier 1998 U.Montpellier 656 x Microcebus murinus - 1997 U.Montpellier 1998 U.Montpellier 481 + Eulemur fulvus mayottensis 1974 Madagascar 1992 Montpellier zoo 474 + Eulemur fulvus mayottensis 1974 Madagascar 1990 Montpellier zoo 584 - Eulemur fulvus mayottensis 1984 Montpellier 1991 Montpellier zoo 455 + Eulemur fulvus mayottensis 1983 Montpellier 1989 Montpellier zoo - + Eulemur fulvus mayottensis 1988 Montpellier 1992 Montpellier zoo - + Eulemur fulvus mayottensis 1995 Montpellier 1996 Montpellier zoo - + Eulemur fulvus albifrons 1988 Paris 1992 Montpellier zoo - + Eulemur fulvus albifrons 1988 Paris 1990 Montpellier zoo - + Eulemur fulvus albifrons 1988 Paris 1992 Montpellier zoo 456 + Eulemur fulvus albifrons 1988 Paris 1990 Montpellier zoo 586 + Eulemur mongoz - 1979 Madagascar 1998 Montpellier zoo - p Eulemur mongoz - 1989 Mulhouse 1991 Montpellier zoo - p Eulemur mongoz - 1989 Mulhouse 1990 Montpellier zoo - p Eulemur macaco - 1986 Montpellier 1996 Montpellier zoo - p Lemur catta - 1976 Montpellier 1994 Montpellier zoo - p Varecia variegata variegata 1985 Mulhouse 1990 Montpellier zoo - p Varecia variegata variegata 1993 xxx 1994 Montpellier zoo 455 + Macaca mulatta - 1986 Ravensden UK 1992 Montpellier zoo - p Macaca mulatta - 1986 Ravensden UK 1993 Montpellier zoo - p Macaca mulatta - 1988 Ravensden UK 1991 Montpellier zoo - p Saimiri sciureus - 1987 Frejus France 1990 Frejus zoo 700 pc eulemur hybrid - - Besancon zoo 1998 Besancon zoo 701 pc eulemur hybrid - - Besancon zoo 1998 Besancon zoo 702 pc eulemur hybrid - - Besancon zoo 1998 Besancon zoo 703 pc eulemur hybrid - - Besancon zoo 1998 Besancon zoo 704 pc eulemur hybrid - - Besancon zoo 1998 Besancon zoo 705 pc eulemur hybrid - - Besancon zoo 1998 Besancon zoo 706 pc eulemur hybrid - - Strasbourg zoo 1998 Strasbourg zoo 707 pc eulemur hybrid - - Strasbourg zoo 1998 Strasbourg zoo 708 pc eulemur hybrid - - Strasbourg zoo 1998 Strasbourg zoo 709 pc eulemur hybrid - - Strasbourg zoo 1998 Strasbourg zoo 710 pc eulemur hybrid - - Strasbourg zoo 1998 Strasbourg zoo 711 pc eulemur hybrid - - Strasbourg zoo 1998 Strasbourg zoo 712 pc eulemur hybrid - - Strasbourg zoo 1998 Strasbourg zoo 713 pc eulemur hybrid - - Strasbourg zoo 1998 Strasbourg zoo 714 pc eulemur hybrid - - Strasbourg zoo 1998 Strasbourg zoo 715 pc eulemur hybrid - - Strasbourg zoo 1998 Strasbourg zoo 716 pc eulemur hybrid - - Strasbourg zoo 1998 Strasbourg zoo 717 pc eulemur hybrid - - Strasbourg zoo 1998 Strasbourg zoo x p genus species - - Lille zoo 1996 Lille zoo y p genus species - - Lille zoo 1996 Lille zoo z p genus species - - Lille zoo 1996 Lille zoo 1 + Actinonyx jubatus cheetah 1986 Marwell zoo 1991 Pearle Coast AU Duke + Actinonyx jubatus cheetah 1984 Marwell zoo 1992 Colchester zoo? UK Saki + Actinonyx jubatus cheetah 1986 Marwell zoo 1993 unknown UK Mich + Actinonyx jubatus cheetah 1986 Whipsnade 1993 Whipsnade UK Fr1 + Actinonyx jubatus cheetah 1987 Whipsnade 1997 Safari de Peaugres FR Fr2 + Actinonyx jubatus cheetah 1991 Marwell zoo 1997 Safari de Peaugres Fr xx + Actinonyx jubatus cheetah 19xx xxx zoo 199x Fota zoo IR yy + Actinonyx jubatus cheetah 19xx yyy zoo 1996+ yyyy zoo UK zz + Actinonyx jubatus cheetah 19xx zzz zoo 1996+ yyyy zoo UK aaa + Felis concolor puma 1986 Chester zoo 1991 Chester zoo UK yy + Felis concolor puma 1980 yyy zoo 1995 yyyy zoo UK zz + Felis concolor puma 1978 zzz zoo 1995 zzzz zoo UK xxx + Felis pardalis ocelot 1987 xxx 1994 Chester zoo UK zzz + Felis pardalis ocelot 1980 zzz 1995 zzzz zoo UK zzz + Felis pardalis ocelot 1980 zzz 2000 zzzzz zoo UK 85 + Felis catus cat 1990+ various 1999+ various UK LI NO 19 + Canis familia. dog 1992+ various 1999+ various UK Fota + Panthera tigris tiger 1981 xxx zoo 1995 xxxx zoo UK yy + Panthera tigris tiger 1983 yyy zoo 1998 yyyy zoo UK Lump + Panthera leo lion 1986 Woburn SP 1998 Dec Edinburgh zoo [since 1994] zz + Panthera leo lion 1981 www 1999 May www zoo UK Major+ Panthera leo lion 1987 Longleat safari 2000 Aug Newquay Zoo,Cornwall [since 1996] 1 + Taurotragus oryx eland 1987 Port Lympne 1989 Port Lympne zoo UK Moll + Taurotragus oryx eland 1989 xx UK 1991 not Port Lympne UK Nedd + Taurotragus oryx eland 1989 xx UK 1991 not Port Lympne UK Elec + Taurotragus oryx eland 1990 xx UK 1992 not Port Lympne Uk Daph p Taurotragus oryx eland 1988 xx UK 1990 not Port Lympne UK zzz + Taurotragus oryx eland 1991 zz UK 1994 zzz UK yyy + Taurotragus oryx eland 1993 yy UK 1995 yyy UK Fran p Tragelaphus strepsi. kudu 1985 London zoo 1987 London zoo UK Lind + Tragelaphus strepsi. kudu 1987 London zoo 1989 London zoo UK Karl + Tragelaphus strepsi. kudu 1988 London zoo 1990 London zoo UK Kaz + Tragelaphus strepsi. kudu 1988 London zoo 1991 London zoo UK Bamb pc Tragelaphus strepsi. kudu 1988 London zoo 1991 London zoo UK Step - Tragelaphus strepsi. kudu 1984 London zoo 1991 London zoo UK 346 pc Tragelaphus strepsi. kudu 1990 London zoo 1992 London zoo UK 324 + Tragelaphus strepsi. kudu 1989 Marwell zoo 1992 London zoo UK xxx + Tragelaphus angasi nyala 1983 Marwell zoo 1986 Marwell zoo UK yy + Oryx gazella gemsbok 1983 Marwell zoo 1986 Marwell zoo UK zz + Oryx gazella gemsbok 1994+ zzz zoo 1996+ zzzz zoo UK xx + Oryx dammah scim oryx 1990 xxxx zoo 1993 Chester zoo UK yy + Oryx leucoryx arab oryx 1986 Zurich zoo 1991 London zoo UK yy + Bos taurus ankole cow 1987 yyy zoo 1995 yyyy zoo UK zz + Bos taurus ankole cow 1986 zzz zoo 1991 zzzz zoo UK xx + Bison bison Eu bison 1989 xxx zoo 1996 xxxx zoo UK
| Year | 1990 | 1991 | 1992 | 1993 | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 |
| Cases | 12 | 12 | 10 | 11 | 16 | 8 | 6(1) | 6(2) | 4(2) | 2(1) |
Figures in brackets indicate the number of animals that can be clearly identified as having been born after September 1990 (i.e. the date the ban on the use of specified bovine offals was theoretically extended to any animal feed).
Total cats to date: 90 (including 1 in N Ireland, 1 in Norway, 1 in Lichtenstein). These numbers are gross under-statements of the extent of FSE.
Times ... Wednesday 15 November 2000 By Simon De BruxellesMajor the lion , which had to be put down after vets and a faith healer failed to cure his bad back, was suffering from a form of mad cow disease, it was disclosed yesterday. Vets thought the 12-year-old lion, star attraction at Newquay Zoo in Cornwall, had become lame as the result of an old back injury.
But despite attempts to cure him using conventional medicines, a magnetic collar and even a faith healer, his condition deteriorated and he was put down by zoo staff in August. A post mortem examination by a Ministry of Agriculture vet has now revealed that Major was suffering from BSE
Mike Thomas, the zoo's manager, said staff were shocked by the findings. No one had suspected he was suffering from the disease. Mr Thomas said: "It wasn't until we saw the results that we discovered he had FSE. It was never obvious that he had it. We had him put down for totally different reasons."
The lion may have contracted the disease from offal, possibly during his time at Longleat safari park in Wiltshire, where he was bred. Keith Harris, the headkeeper at Longleat, said Major could have contracted FSE before restrictions on offal were imposed in 1989. He said: "The Ministry of Agriculture made a directive in 1989 to stop feeding offal, spinal cord and brains to them.
"Major was born and bred here and went to Newquay around three or four years ago. He was getting a lot of stick from other males in the pride and it was quite handy to give him to Newquay Zoo. We do not have any problems to date here at Longleat."
Major's half-brother Ronnie, 15, has gone to Newquay from Longleat to take Major's place. Mr Thomas said he was concerned for the health of the lion. He said: "Clearly this is going to be of utmost concern to our keepers and we will be keeping a close eye on him."
Since 1976 at least 20 big cats including pumas , lions , tigers and cheetahs , have died from BSE-related illnesses at zoos and safari parks in Britain.
A Ministry of Agriculture spokeswoman said: "Vets say there will be one or two cases a year until the older animals die out. The animals were fed on high risk material before 1989."
Wednesday 15 November 2000 By Richard Savill TelegraphA lion who was destroyed by zookeepers after failing to recover from back injuries was suffering from the feline equivalent of mad cow disease. A post-mortem examination by the Ministry of Agriculture vet found that 12-year-old Major had BSE. He was injured in a fight with another lion at Newquay Zoo, Cornwall.
Michael Thomas, the zoo manager, said the findings, three months after Major's death, had left staff shocked and surprised . He said: "I would expect that it would have had to come from Major eating part of a whole carcass because it is the brain and spinal cord which carry the disease."
A Ministry of Agriculture spokesman said: "We are quite confident that animals that have contracted spongiform encephalopathy had been infected prior to feeding controls put into effect in the late 80s. Vets say there will be one or two cases a year until the older animals die out."
Tue, Nov 14, 2000 By EMMANUEL GEORGES-PICOT Associated Press WriterFrance on Tuesday announced the suspension of animal-based feed for all livestock and the banning of T-bone steaks as part of a series of measures to reduce the spread of mad cow disease.
Prime Minister Lionel Jospin said the temporary ban on the use of animal-based feeds for all livestock -- including fish, chicken and pork -- would take effect Wednesday. A decision on a full ban would be made once the French agency for food safety assesses risks associated with such feeds, which could take 3-4 months.
Jospin also said that T-bone steaks, a cut that harbors potential risks because it is near the bone, were being banned immediately in France. He announced a series of other measures to protect the food chain from bovine spongiform encephalopathy, or mad cow disease. The brain-wasting ailment is suspected by scientists to be linked to a similar human malady, variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease.
Three cases of the disease are known in France, compared to more than 85 in Britain, where mad cow disease hit in 1996. Public concern has heightened since it was revealed last month that potentially infected meat had made it to supermarket shelves before being hastily withdrawn.
"The government has decided to suspend the use of animal-based livestock feed and bone meal for pigs, poultry, fish as well as pets," Jospin said in televised comments.
Initially an opponent to a ban on animal-based feed, the Socialist prime minister had been under growing pressure since conservative President Jacques Chirac called last week for a total ban on such feeds.
France banned the use of animal-based feed for cows in 1990 and other ruminants six years later. Today, only chicken, pork and farm-raised fish are allowed to be given animal-based feeds. The French government is seeking to eliminate the risk of cross-contamination of feeds for cows from feeds for chickens, pork and farm.
Jospin also announced measures to help protect consumers, including a review of slaughterhouse practices to reduce the chance of banned animal parts creeping into meat products. The measure means that 870,000 tons of feed must be incinerated.
November 15, 2000 By SUZANNE DALEY Agence France-PresseFrench farmers seeking to allay fears about mad cow disease offered grilled beef to passers-by in Lille. Beef sales have dropped since a French farmer was arrested for knowingly selling a diseased cow three weeks ago.
At lunch time in a city-owned slaughterhouse here, employees began spraying hot water and disinfectant across the bloodstained cement floors, putting lids on the containers of identification tags taken from cows as they were killed and sharpening knives so that work could begin again in the afternoon.
But for the last two weeks, an afternoon shift has not always been needed. Orders at the slaughterhouse are down by 30 percent. At the Paris wholesale meat market, business has been worse, with sales of beef dropping by nearly 50 percent on some days. Television crews have shown farmers returning home with their prize-winning cows, unable to sell them at any price.
The number of reported cases of the disease has been rising steadily in
France this year. The real panic in France set in three weeks ago after a
farmer was arrested for trying to sell a diseased cow for slaughter. The
authorities were able to intercept the cow, but not before thousands of
pounds of suspect meat from the same herd had been sold.
Last year, France recorded just 31 cases of the disease. The rising numbers
are in part due to a new testing program that focuses on cows that are most
at risk. That program has identified 39 cases. But still 60 new cases were
identified in the usual way, far more than were found in 1999. Many
scientists had expected that this year, five years after safety precautions
were put in place, the number of cases would be declining...
The French Ministry of Agriculture said that all the cases took place on
the milk cows of Prim'Holstein race, and the three cows suffering from BSE
are aged from six to seven.
French Prime Minister Lionel Jospin announced Tuesday that the
government will ban all meat and bone meal from animal feed as a measure of
precaution against BSE.
A poll published Tuesday said that four out of every 10 Frenchmen and
Frenchwomen intend to decrease their consumption of beef.
The poll, conducted by the weekly magazine Paris Match among 1, 002
people, shows that 51 percent of the French population are not affected by
the mad cow scare and only 7 percent have stopped eating beef.
BSE is believed to have resulted in some cases of Creutzfelt Jakob among
human consumers of the beef infected with the disease.
Jospin announced a ban on the sale of T-bone steaks and the use of
meat and bone meal in all animal feed as precautionary steps against the
spread of the disease, pending research by national food safety agency
AFSSA.
But the ban has raised a new set of problems as a sharp rise in the
incineration of animal carcasses could belch pollutants like dioxin into
the air and create a more serious hazard than the health risk of the feed.
The ban meant slaughterhouses would have to destroy a total of 740,000
tonnes of the dusty brown meat and bone meal and 275,000 tonnes of fat per
year, Jospin told a news conference.
"Of this total, 130,000 tonnes representing hazardous tissues removed
at the abattoir are already destroyed by incineration," he said. "870,000
tonnes per year of extra meal and fat will therefore have to be stocked and
destroyed."
Unions representing butchers and animal feed makers estimate the
annual cost of Tuesday's measure will be close to five billion francs ($650
million).
Jospin said the cost was still being studied but would probably total
several billion francs.
"The finance and farm ministers will prepare, in consultation with all
sector participants, the financing terms of these measures," the prime
minister said.
Addressing the problem of capacity constraints, Jospin said outside
contractors could incinerate an extra 486,000 tonnes of meal and 40,000
tonnes of fat in the short term.
"Additional capacities estimated at around 350,000 tonnes should be
mobilised by June 2001. Beyond that, other incineration capacities must be
studied," he said.
In the meantime, the problem was finding warehouses to stock the meal
and fat without creating a danger to human health or the environment.
The government has already found additional storage capacities for
around 200,000 tonnes of meal and was searching for other storage sites,
said Jospin. Defence Minister Alain Richard has proposed commandeering some
military sites.
Environment Minister Dominique Voynet said all sites would have to
pass strict sanitary and environmental criteria.
"We must respect specific storage conditions in order to avoid the
risk of heating of the meal stock and perhaps of fire," she said. "We will
therefore be very demanding on the choice of sites."
Voynet, a member of the Green Party in Jospin's left-wing coalition
government, also sought to reassure the public on the possible emission of
dioxins, saying the toxic chemical was produced mainly by old incinerators.
"If we must build new facilties to eliminate meat and bone meal, it
will be by definition incinerators which perfectly respect European norms
and therefore do not emit dioxin," the minister told reporters.
European consumers have reacted strongly to the recent developments in relation
to BSE in France. Commissioner David Byrne, responsible for Health and
Consumer Protection and Commissioner Franz Fischler, responsible for
Agriculture, Fisheries and Rural Development insist on as much transparency as
possible on the extent of BSE in the European cattle population. The European
Commission will be proposing to Member States to put in place a comprehensive
BSE-testing of all bovine animals, above a certain age. These tests would serve as
an extra guarantee to consumers as to the safety of the beef they are consuming,
complementing the existing stringent protection standards in place. The options
how to put the programme in practice will be discussed in the Standing Veterinary
Committee which will meet on Wednesday this week (15 November 2000) and in
the Agriculture Council on 20 November.
Commenting on the suggestion, David Byrne said: "One of the major lessons I have
learned in dealing with BSE is that the political establishment must be fully transparent with
the public on the issue. There must be no hidden agendas. No distortions. No false
assurances. Transparency, information and open dialogue must guide our actions. [Not a good idea then to have deceptive nonsense in the very same press release, below -- webmaster]
We
must make known the risks and the protective measures which we have introduced to
tackle those risks. At the Community level, we have put in place a comprehensive series of
controls which I am satisfied reduce the risk of a very low level. The envisaged programme
will however increase information and transparency to the consumer and further strengthen
our controls."
Franz Fischler added: " I am very conscious of the huge public concern at the extent of the
disease in our cattle herd. It is our responsibility - at both the national and the Community
level - to take that concern very seriously. I am convinced that farmers agree with me that it
is of utmost importance to restore public trust in beef products."
The testing programme is closely linked to the age of the animal since only cattle above a
certain age develop clinical symptoms of BSE due to the long incubation period of the
disease. Current BSE-tests can only be applied on the brain of a dead animal
(post-mortem). [Unfortunately csttle can be highly infectious prior to displaying overt symptoms. -- webmaster]
The testing programme agreed upon earlier and entering into force EU-wide from 1
January 2001 onwards was targeted at animals at risk (animals showing neurological
symptoms) and foresaw around 170 000 tests. Some Member States have already started
with their testing programme, which led in France to the detection of previously undetected
BSE-cases.
Commissioner Byrne reiterated his call on Member States to introduce earlier than
planned the testing programme and enlarge it substantially (see IP/00/1286 of Friday, 10
November 2000).
Over the past six years, the EU has put in place [or talked about putting place -- webmaster] several important laws which considerably
reduce the level of risk of any exposure to BSE-infected cattle by humans. The most
important ones are:
- The ban on the feeding of mammalian meat and bone meal to ruminants [but BSE is still ok to feed pigs, chicken and fish -- webmaster];
- The much higher standards for the rendering of animal waste [which have little effect on inactivating the prion protein -- webmaster];
- The requirement to remove and destroy specified risk materials, i.e. spinal cord, brain [which would still leave plenty of infectivity in place -- webmaster];
- The active surveillance measures to detect cases of BSE, including the introduction of
random tests.
These control measures now applying are a huge improvement on the past situation [how is this being measured? -- webmaster]. They
are all based on open and transparent scientific advice. They can however only work if they
are rigorously implemented. Member States have the responsibility to ensure that these
controls are implemented strictly.
Commissioners Byrne and Fischler consider that the exact and full implementation of
these measures in all Member States should ensure the high level of public health
protection that the consumer expects.
France has seen the increase of BSE cases over the past months, partly as a
consequence of the testing programme put in place. While being clearly disturbing, the
figures must be looked at in perspective. The current higher incidence amounts to about 7
cases per million bovines aged over 2 years. This compares with the internationally
recognised level of 100 cases per million for high incidence Member States.
The EU's head office said in a statement that the sudden increase in
cases of bovine spongiform encephalopathy, or BSE, found in France was
largely due to improved testing rather than any spread of the fatal,
brain-wasting ailment widely known as mad cow disease.
"The increased incidence in France has to be viewed in perspective,"
said the European Commission. "It currently amounts to seven cases per
million cattle over two years, well below the international standard for
high-risk countries of 100 per million."
Nevertheless, the EU's top public health official warned governments
around Europe to intensify safety controls to prevent a spread of the
disease.
"This relatively low incidence is no reason for complacency," EU Health
Commissioner David Byrne told the European Parliament in Strasbourg,
France. "We must remain extremely vigilant."
The latest scare has French cooks abandoning boeuf bourguignon, steak
tartare and other beef-based gastronomic favorites. The EU said beef
consumption is down 40 percent as a "crisis of public confidence" grips
France.
Spain has banned imports of French breeding cattle and Italy has warned
it may also impose restrictions.
To help allay the spreading concern, Byrne has proposed extending
testing for the disease to include millions of cattle all over Europe.
Veterinary experts from the 15 EU nations discussed the proposals Wednesday
prior to next week's meeting of European farm ministers.
The EU already has a plan in place to extend annual testing to some
170,000 animals next year. Under the new proposals, those tests centered on
high-risk cattle would be extended to include all older animals in the EU's
cattle herd of 40 million.
The huge extension of the tests would start to weigh on budgets. One BSE
testing kit costs 30 euros (dlrs 26), excluding the cost of veterinarian
fees and laboratory personnel. Some nations where no native cases of BSE
have been detected have balked a the potential expense.
EU officials hope an agreement can be found soon after next week's
meeting.
The EU Commission also said it would propose the creation of a storage
scheme to help farmers unable to sell their beef in the current crisis.
To the applause of the EU assembly, Byrne upbraided governments for
failing to strictly implement existing EU safety checks, saying their
laxity was "unacceptable" and "foolhardy."
"The public need reassurance that controls already in place are
effective," he told the Strasbourg parliament. "Extensive testing now
appears to be the most effective means of providing such reassurance."
Some 90 cases of BSE have been found in France this year compared to 31
cases in 1999. Increases have also been detected in Ireland and Belgium,
although at a lower rate the EU said.
The French cases pale, however, in comparison with the mad cow outbreak
in Britain where some 180,000 cattle were affected, causing the EU to ban
British beef exports in 1996. That ban was lifted last year after Britain
introduced a raft of new safety measures.
France stepped up its own safety controls Tuesday with a ban on the use
of animal-based feed for all livestock and prohibition of T-bone steaks.
BSE is suspected by scientists to be linked to a similar human variant,
Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. Two deaths from the disease are known in France,
compared to more than 80 in Britain.
Existing controls to contain the spread of Bovine
Spongiform Encephalopathy, or mad cow disease must be rigidly enforced by
national authorities, the European Commissioner for Health and Protection
David Byrne said Wednesday. Addressing the European Parliament, he said the
alternative to these controls "leads toward an outright ban on meal and
bone meal."
Byrne said he would be asking the European Commission's Food
and Veterinary Office to repeat a "fundamental and thorough" inspection in
the EU member states to check that existing controls were properly
implemented. Commenting on events in France, where there is a rising tide
of concern about the incidence of BSE, the Commissioner told the European
Parliament that "once more we are reminded that BSE is not a historic event
but a real and present danger."
He said: "The fact is, the incidence is
rising in several member states. In the absence of clear and transparent
evidence that the incidence of BSE is falling, in all member states, we
must remain extremely vigilant." He said the rising number of cases in
France was "a worrying increase" but was in part the result of targeted
testing.
The current incidence of BSE in France, at about seven cases per
million cattle aged over two years, was "far short of the international
criterion of 100 cases per million used to define high incidence
countries." [This seems arbitrary. This works out to 1 cow in 10,000 ie that 1 in 11,000 is somehow ok. -- webmaster]ß
His message of reassurance to the parliament was: "there is a
battery of controls on the statute book. If these controls are respected
and implemented, the risk to the public is reduced to a minimum."
He called
for the Parliament to back recent Commission proposals for a European Food
Authority and for increased testing for BSE on older cattle. He said in
looking to explain the increased incidence of BSE in France and other
member states, "time and again the finger of blame points in the direction
of contaminated meat and bone meal (MBM)."
He said the evidence suggested
that increased BSE originated in the period before controls on MBM were
reinforced in 1996. The current controls were strict, he said. They
included a ban on MBM for use in feed for sheep and cattle; a requirement
that MBM be pressure cooked to high standards; that parts of the animal
that were most likely to carry the infectious BSE agent, specified risk
materials, should be removed; and various surveillance measures, including
random testing.
"These controls can only be effective if properly
implemented," he said. Many inspections by the Commission's Food and
Veterinary Office point to weaknesses in the implementation of these
controls....This is unacceptable on public health grounds. It is also
foolhardy as the alternative to these controls leads toward an outright ban
on meat and bone meal with the attendant huge financial and environmental
consequences."
He said he wanted "urgent on-the-ground confirmation" from
the FVO that the requirement introduced on Oct. 1 for the removal of
specified risk materials was being enforced.
"We can't run the risk that, after mad cow, one must also run a similar
risk with chickens or pigs, for example," Veronesi was quoted as saying by
the Italian news agency ANSA in Catania, Sicily, where he was participating
in a medical conference.
After an increase in reported cases of mad cow disease in neighboring
France, butchers in Italy have said some consumers are nervous about buying
meat, although Italy so far has been spared any epidemic of the fatal
animal disease.
"Italians can eat without fear meat from animals raised in our country,"
Veronesi said.
He urged testing bovine animals that are older than two years and ready
for slaughter.
"If everybody follows this rule, and would put into effect, as we are
doing, starting Jan. 1 the mandatory certification, the disease will
disappear in all of Europe," the health minister said.
Italy is expected to lobby for tighter controls to prevent the spread of
mad cow disease when European Union veterinary experts meet on Wednesday to
discuss the problem.
EU Commission head Romano Prodi told reporters in northern Italy Monday
that he doubted that closing national borders to beef imports would solve
the mad cow problem.
"If there is a country which, in the past, was unbending about closure,
it was France, and it found itself with mad cow disease in its own
backyard," Prodi was quoted as saying.
On Monday, fearing a further spread of the mad cow scare, the European
Commission called for a huge increase of testing on cattle in the 15
European Union nations.
Mad cow disease, also known as bovine spongiform encephalopathy, or BSE,
has so far spared herds in Spain, Italy, Germany, Sweden, Greece, Finland
and Austria [according to voluntary reporting without testing, despite massive imports of infected feed. -- webmaster]
The brain-devouring illness in cattle has been linked to a variant
strand of the fatal human disease Creutzfeldt-Jakob.
At the height of the Britain outbreak in 1996, the EU banned all British
beef exports but lifted the prohibition in August 1999.
In Tuscany, Italy, a cattle-breeding area, health officials on Mondy
said there was no call for alarm after a woman in her 60s was hospitalized
in a Florence hospital with a suspected case of Creutzfeldt-Jakob. Doctors
said the woman's illness was apparently not the variant type linked to the
cattle disease.
Except for two cows imported from Britain to Sicily a few years ago, no
animal has been diagnosed in Italy as having mad cow disease, officials
say, but a surge of the brain-eating disease in neighboring France recently
has made Italian consumers skittish about buying beef.
While Italy says its own cattle are safe to eat, much beef is imported
from France and other European countries. Rome, Milan, Florence, Genoa and
other cities dropped beef from school menus.
Agriculture Minister Alfonso Pecoraro Scanio, in an interview with
Associated Press Television News, pushed for a European Union-wide
suspension of beef imports from France.
"We believe the whole European Union should ban the use of animal feed,"
the minister said, in reference to the practice of feeding bone meal and
other meat parts to poultry, fish as well as to grazing animals.
The minister added: "We demand that transfer of animals from country to
country be suspended if there is a problem with adult bovine livestock. But
this has to be a decision taken by the European Union."
"Obviously, if the permanent European veterinary committee (of the EU)
isn't able to take this decision, I don't rule out that, on the advice of
our veterinary services, Italy would suspend imports of livestock older
than 24 months" from France, the minister said.
France announced on Tuesday that it is suspending the use of
animal-based feed for all livestock in France.
Last week Italy pushed for a meeting of EU veterinary experts, now set
for Wednesday.
In the northwestern region of Piedmont, which borders France, one town,
Cuneo, ordered its schools to post a certificate showing where the beef
served to children came from and certifying that no animal meal was used to
feed the livestock.
A major Italian consumer group, Codacons, demanded that Italy's
ministers of health as well as agriculture issue decrees immediately
banning beef imports from France.
Last week the Spanish government banned imports of live breeding
cattle over 20 months old from France and Ireland.
But the Union of Small Farmers and Agriculturalists (UPA) urged more
precautions, including a ban on all live cows and beef from France and
Ireland.
"We've watched the alarm in neighbouring France and the minimum we
want is more control here," Esteban Lopez, UPA spokesman, told Reuters.
"We need more effective food labelling and soon," he said.
"We are about to issue a statement that there is no risk to eating
beef in Switzerland," Roland Charriere, head of meat inspection at the
federal health office, told Reuters.
Consumer panic over bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) or mad cow
disease and its link to a fatal brain-wasting disease in humans led France
to ban the sale of beef-on-the-bone and suspend the use of suspect animal
feed products on Tuesday.
Swiss butchers' association director Balz Horber said that sales of
beef were down by five to 10 percent in the Geneva area but remained stable
in the rest of the country.
"It is mainly a confidence problem, not a quality problem," Horber
said on the sidelines of the annual Swiss master butchers' meeting in
Zurich, where mad cow disease was a prominent, if uninvited, guest at the
proceedings. Especially in French-speaking Switzerland there is a lot of
excitement (about mad cow)," Hans Wyss of the government veterinary office
said.
"We have taken all necessary measures since 1990 and to our knowledge
meat and meat products in Switzerland are without any problems," he added.
Switzerland was hit hard by mad cow disease in the early 1990s. There
have been 353 cases of BSE since 1990 when the country banned brain and
nerve tissue from animal feed.
But there have been no reported Swiss cases of the new variant of
Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease, the brain-wasting human illness believed to be
contracted by eating beef from contaminated cows and which has killed at
least 80 people in Britain and two in France.
After the peak years of 1994 and 1995 -- with 63 and 66 cases -- the
occurrence of mad cow disease is falling in Switzerland. In France it is on
the rise with almost 100 cases this year compared to 30 last year.
Horber said the main Swiss worry was about two recent cases of mad cow
disease in animals born after the 1996 ban on using parts of carcasses in
animal feed for cattle -- seen as a cause of mad cow disease.
"We are quite certain that these cases are due to a mix-up of feeds
destined for pigs or poultry that were given to cows," he said.
The association favours a total ban on using animal parts in animal
feeds, but wants the government to help fund the annual costs of more than
100 million Swiss francs ($56.43 million) for giving up the cheap
ingredients.
Switzerland provides almost 95 percent of the animals needed for its
own beef consumption and all slaughterhouses are checked by veterinary
doctors. Switzerland's potentially dangerous slaughter products are
separated and incinerated by one company, Centravo.
Separately, another Swiss firm Prionics has developed a test to
determine BSE in cows. It is already selling the test kits to France,
Germany, Spain, Denmark and the Netherlands and would welcome a European
Commission decision to make tests compulsory.
There is no real danger of cross-contamination between liquid
pig feed and dry cattle feed, but the Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy, or
mad cow disease dangers to pigs are still scientifically unclear, the
spokesman said.
"A ban in liquid pig feeds is being considered as a
precaution but no decision has yet been made," he said. It is possible that
only pigmeat could be banned from pig feed.
No date is currently available
for Switzerland's own start of a ban on MBM in all dry animal feeds. "We
hope it will be imposed as soon as possible but this involves the
parliamentary process and we can only say it is likely to be imposed in
early 2001," he added.
Franqois Meslin:
Over 40,000 deaths due to rabies are reported annually worldwide and
each year seven to eight million people receive antirabies vaccine
treatment following dog bites. Dog rabies poses a significant public
health problem in Asia, as 85% of the human deaths due to rabies
reported worldwide and 80% of the vaccine doses applied in developing
countries come from this part of the world.
In many Asian countries such as Bangladesh, India, Nepal and Pakistan,
sheep-brain based Semple vaccine* is the only vaccine available free of
cost. It represents 50 to 95% of all vaccine doses used for rabies
post-exposure treatment, depending upon the country. A complete
treatment consists of 10 subcutaneous daily injections of 2 to 5 ml
(depending mainly on patient size and nature of the exposure) plus
booster doses; that is a total of 25 to 50 ml of the 5 % sheep brain
suspension injected over a 10-day period.
According to the literature, the reported rate of neuroparalytic
complications following the use of this vaccine varies from 1:600 to
1:1575 administrations, and 20-25% of these lead to death. The exact
incidence of neuroparalytic complications throughout India or other
countries in the area is not known. However, in the State of Karnataka,
India, 112 cases of neuroparalytic accidents were admitted in the past
20 years following Sempie vaccine administration. In contrast, the newly
developed cell culture or embryonating egg vaccines are effective and
safe, with lower and less severe complication rates.
In many Asian countries, Semple type vaccine has been used for the past
90 years. In India forty million ml of this vaccine are produced in this
country to treat at least 500 000 persons each year. In Pakistan 450 000
and in Bangladesh 60 000 people receive Semple type vaccine after
possible exposure to rabies. There is a theoretical risk of TSE
transmission to humans through parenteral administration of these
products. Although there is to date no evidence of such occurrences in
human medicine, recent events in the TSE field have demonstrated that an
animal TSE agent could affect human beings.
The situation is very similar regarding rabies vaccines for animal use.
For example various Indian veterinary vaccine institutes prepare 100
million ml of Semple vaccine for use in both rabies pre-and
post-exposure prophylaxis in dogs and food production animals each year.
Scrapie could be theoretically transmitted to animal vaccine recipients,
especially ruminants, through sheep-brain based vaccines such as Semple
type vaccine.
This could happen because scrapie infectivity, if present,
would not be inactivated by the manufacturing process. In this
connection, a recent publication strongly suggests that scrapie was
transmitted to sheep and goats [1998, in Italy -- webmaster] through the administration of a
veterinary vaccine whose method of preparation is similar to the Semple
type vaccine. In addition, various Asian countries have begun to use
animal tissues as feed supplement for intensive sheep and dairy cattle
production.
This introduces an additional, though still theoretical,
possibility that scrapie, or even BSE, could spread among the sheep
population and enter the sheep flocks that are used as a source of
rabies vaccine production for human or animal use. In areas where the
status of animal TSE is not well documented, this risk cannot be totally
ruled out, though it may be remote, as there is no test available at
present to detect pre-clinical cases of prion disease in sheep.
* 15=B-propiolactone inactivated or phenolized antirabies vaccine
containing 5% suspension of sheep brain infected with a fixed strain of
rabies virus.
Due to the way in which science has progressed over the last century it
has become difficult for individuals to claim to be experts in complete
fields of science. As such when a new condition,and particularly a fatal
disease for which there is no treatment, appears, the specific experts
must be asked by Government for their opinion.
I found that independent scientists could not put their information to
the Government, that advisors were picked in order to avoid problems,
that the advice they gave was ignored if it disagreed with opinions of
civil servants. All of this is confirmed in this damning report.
The
advising committees ware given specific data and only asked to answer
specific questions. This enabled officials to make the decisions they
wanted without having to claim that they were advised otherwise. Plainly
this must now change. The argument that these methods had succeeded over
many years and had permitted a reliable and stable government system,
has become unacceptable.
My own feeling, being treated as an apparent maverick that was not to be
listened to hurt me greatly. Attempts ware made to prevent my findings
being published or accepted by officials, and pressure was put on my
employers to stop my work. Actions such as these prevented information
getting to the public or parliament. Even if it did it was not taken
seriously. It is easy to shoot the messenger bearing bad news, but
everything I have said over the years has been accepted. The arrogance
of Government avoiding information that it does not want must stop.
When Chamberlain waved the agreement with Hitler to the people,
everyone wanted to believe it. But that did not stop Hitler from acting.
When MAFF told Parliament, and the people that BSE was not a risk, we
all wished it to be true, but that did not stop the problems taking
place.
I am absolutely fed up, as a standard scientist in the field, from being
treated as a bad guy, I have had enough of being one of the few people
that would put over the true information to the press (and find that the
press had been told - quite untruly - that I was an untrustworthy
vegetarian with an underlying agenda for my action). The people in this
country must not rely on a small number of academics putting their heads
on the line in the future.
I trust that the major actions demanded by Lord Phillips will be carried
out. This must include building into the system a way of ensuring that
scientists are not silenced and that experts in the field are involved
in decision-making.
Countries including Russia and Hungary have announced their own
embargoes on French beef, and Spain has barred the import of French cattle
older than 20 months, but the European Union has not so far placed
restrictions on exports.
Shadow agriculture minister Tim Yeo said it was time for the Government
to take action alone to keep "sub-standard imports" out of Britain.
In a letter to Agriculture Minister Nick Brown, Mr Yeo said that the
French had admitted that their BSE controls were "inadequate" and that
French beef might therefore pose a risk to human health.
He said: "The recent BSE inquiry set out clearly the risks that British
consumers faced 10 years ago. The danger now is that similar risks may be
being run because of Labour's refusal to act on sub-standard imports.
I have written to Nick Brown urging him to ban the import of French
beef. The Agriculture Minister's refusal to stand up to his French
counterpart shows once again that he is more interested in protecting
French farmers than British consumers."
The bans were welcomed by Liberal Democrat agriculture spokesman Colin
Breed, who said they were "a bit late in the day".
Mr Breed said: "France has been urged to ban meat and bone meal feed for
a number of years.
"A ban must mean a complete ban. All meat and bone meal feed must be
withdrawn and destroyed immediately. There must be no possibility of any
unintentional use of this animal feed."
Meat and bone meal has been banned from cattle feed in France since
1990, but today's announcement will bar it from food for other livestock,
such as chickens, pigs and fish.
Fears over BSE in France have surged recently as a more aggressive
testing procedure has led to the discovery of 80 cases of the disease in
cattle this year.
Two people have died from new variant CJD - the human version of BSE - in
France and numerous schools have taken beef off the menu.
On Tuesday, French Prime Minister Lionel Jospin announced a
suspension in the use of bone and meat meal for all animal feed. Floor traders at the Chicago Board of Trade attributed an early
rally on Tuesday in U.S. soymeal futures to the announcement. However,
views of the potential long-term impact of this ban were mixed. Brian
Anderson, analyst with Anderson Commodities and Consulting in Shawnee
Mission, Kan., said, "The change in policy represents a little increased
demand spread over several months. It is not ravingly bullish but will make
the market more sensitive to any problems with the South American soybean
crop."
Expansion of bone meal ban assumed, but how far does it extend? The
French ban on bone and meat meal could increase its demand for soymeal by
around 500,000 tonnes. While this is potentially supportive, it does not
represent a wholesale change in the world balance sheet. However, analysts
forecast that a general ban on the use of bone meal as feed across Western
and Central Europe could increase demand for vegetable meal protein by 3.0
to 3.5 million tonnes, which could have a substantial impact on prices.
Analysts said it is likely that Germany will adopt a similar ban to that in
France, but the stance of other countries is less certain. "Common sense
tells you that the ban will probably be expanded to other European
countries," predicted Roy Huckabay, analyst with the Linn Group.
Where, oh where, does the bone meal go, to Rover and Fluffy? One of the
main questions is what happens to French and other European bone meal.
While the assumption is that most of it will be either incinerated or used
for fertilizer and industrial uses, bone meal could be exported to other
countries, most likely in Eastern Europe, that are less sensitive about the
threat of Mad Cow disease.
"A lot of the bone meal produced in the EU
already ends up in Eastern Europe," noted Anderson. An escalating ban would
reduce the chances bone meal will be exported as feed, but many other
countries have yet to officially commit to a ban, and analysts noted that
previous internal EU barriers on feed components have proven somewhat
porous.
"If the French export their bone meal to another country, it means
the world balance sheet does not change," said Huckabay. Another
possibility is that some of the banned bone and meat meal could find its
way into European pet food. "The French ban includes pet food, unlike the
English ban," said Huckabay, noting the position of other countries is not
yet known.
While U.S. exporters may be
hoping that Europe will turn to the U.S. for its increased protein needs,
this is not a foregone conclusion. "The protein mix in Europe is very
sophisticated, and there are a lot of options they could turn to," said
Curtis Jones, analyst with the Linn Group. Jones mentioned feed wheat,
fishmeal and feed peas as possible alternates. However, he said a lack of
rapeseed meal should limit this as an option. "A smaller rapeseed crop
along with smaller rapeseed crushing margins should argue against a big
increase in rapeseed meal," he summarized.
Much of any increased demand
bonanza could go to Brazil and Argentina, which are forecast to produce
record large soybean crops this season. "There is an excellent chance the
South American crop will be big enough for them to ship a lot more soybeans
and soymeal next spring," noted Dale Gustafson, analyst with Smith Barney.
Gustafson also noted a potential decline in European consumer demand for
beef and other meats due to the Mad Cow scare could lead to poor returns to
producers, which in turn could lead to a gradual shrinking of animal herds
and reduction of feed demand.
Friday, the French Meat Center noted a plunge
in beef sales in supermarkets (down 29% in the week ended Oct. 29), after
news that beef from a herd infected with Mad Cow had been delivered to
stores. The group forecast a further drop in sales to supermarkets and
restaurants.
Bone meal ban may support but not drive soymeal rally. In the end, U.S.
soymeal prices will probably need more than just increased European soymeal
imports to sustain a rally. Even bullish analysts look at Tuesday's
announcement as a complementary rather than a primary input. Huckabay said,
"I have a target of $190 per short ton for front month futures at the CBT,
although this will probably not happen until after Dec futures expire. The
European ban on bone meal is just one component of the larger picture." Dec
soymeal settled at $169.80 per short ton on Tuesday. "There is the
potential for exports of both soybeans and soymeal to increase, but there
is a lot of information we don't know yet," summarized Gustafson.
Francois Patriat, the French State
Secretary for Consumption under the Ministry of Agriculture, said that
France has the means to cope with this emergency situation.
"If the government took some time in making this decision, it is because
it wanted to be equipped with the means to collect and eliminate meat and
bone meal in good circumstances," he told France Inter radio station.
France needs to destroy about one million tons of such feed within one
year. It has so far destroyed 140,000 tons and is in the process of
stocking and destroying 500,000 tons more now.
Patriat added that France will replace meat and bone meal with vegetable
meal for animals, including cattle, fowl and fish.
France Reports 3 New Cases of Mad Cow Disease
Tue, Nov 14, 2000 COMTEX Newswire
France reported Tuesday three new cases of mad
cow disease, or bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE).
The new cases added to 99 the total number of BSE cases registered so
far this year in France and 179 since the appearance of BSE in the country
in 1995.
France faces mountain of animal waste after ban
Reuters Business Report By Emmanuel Jarry
France will have to destroy more than three
times as many animal carcasses as it does now after banning animal feed
products to ease consumer fears about mad cow disease, Prime Minister
Lionel Jospin said on Tuesday.
October 21 - France's Agriculture Ministry says about a tonne of beef
from a herd in which a case of mad cow disease has been discovered had been
sold to supermarket chain Carrefour.
November 3 - Russia and Hungary impose restrictions on imports of
French beef.
November 6 - Revolt against the French government's beef safety
assertions widens as authorities in southwestern city of Toulouse ban the
meat from school canteen menus. At least 89 officially reported cases of
BSE so far this year.
November 7 - President Chirac urges government to suspend the use of
meat and bone meal in all animal feed immediately.
November 8 - The Spanish government bans imports of live breeding
cattle from France. French Farm Minister Jean Glavany announces that both
he and his children eat beef, in an effort to reassure French consumers.
November 10 - Farm Minister Jean Glavany rejects a proposal from the
main farm union FNSEA to slaughter millions of cattle in order to wipe out
BSE.
November 13 - French beef producers call on the European Union to ban
the use of meat and bone meal in all animal feed.
November 14 - After talks with key ministers, French President Lionel
Jospin announces a series of steps including a ban on the use of bone and
meatmeal in animal feedstuffs, random tests for cattle entering
slaughterhouses and more funds for research into mad cow disease.
BSE-test for all older cattle in the EU
Brussels EU press release, 13 November 2000
Byrne and Fischler proposing BSE-test for all older cattle in the EU
EU seeks to calm fears over French mad cow outbreak
Wed, Nov 15, 2000 By PAUL AMES Associated Press Writer
The European Union sought Wednesday to calm
fears sparked by an increase in the detection of cattle with "mad cow"
disease in France, where many scared consumers have stopped eating beef.
EU orders repeat inspection of national BSE controls
Nov. 15 2000 By Tim King, BridgeNews
EU's Byrne: BSE is "a real and present danger, rise in French BSE cases is
"worrying"
Italy's health minister says people should eat without fear
Mon, Nov 13, 2000 AP WorldStream
Italy's health minister, himself a doctor, sought on Monday
to ease citizens' fears about mad cow disease, insisting that Italians can
safely eat meat from animals raised in the country.
Umberto Veronesi, a tumor specialist, was also quoted as urging an
overall ban on animal meal in feed for all animals.
Meat's off school menus; Italy talks tough
Tue, Nov 14, 2000 By FRANCES D'EMILIO Associated Press Writer
Italy's agriculture minister threatened Tuesday to halt
most beef imports from France if the European Union fails to block the
exports to keep mad cow disease from spreading.
A number of cities began taking beef off school menus as a precaution.
Mad cow fears dampen Spain's beef sales
Thu, Nov 16, 2000 Reuters
Alarm over the mad cow crisis sweeping
Europe has dampened Spanish beef sales by between 10 and 15 percent in one
week, El Mundo newspaper reported on Thursday.
But panic over bovine spongiform encephalopathy or mad cow disease has
deterred buyers to a lesser extent than in the 1996 outbreak in Britain,
the paper said.
Swiss say beef safe despite French mad cow panic
Reuters World Report Wed, Nov 15, 2000 By Marcel Michelson
Swiss health officials insisted on
Wednesday the country's beef was safe to eat despite a panic over mad cow
disease spilling across its border from France.
Swiss study ban on animal products in feed
COMTEX Newswire Wed, Nov 15, 2000
The Swiss federal government
is considering banning animal products from liquid pig feeds, a Swiss
Federal Veterinary Agency spokesman said Wednesday. On Nov. 3, the Swiss
government proposed a ban on meat and bone meal (MBM) in all dry animal
feeds including pig feed to prevent contamination of cattle feed with
animal products. No date is yet available for implementation of the ban,
the spokesman added.
Human vaccine prepared in animal brains
11 Nov 00 documents provided from WHO by Terry S. Singeltary Sr., Bacliff, Texas USA
WHO/CDS/CSR/APH/2000.2 pdf
7.6 Could vaccines prepared from animal brain tissue pose a risk of
Transmission of TSEs to humans?
Louping-ill vaccine accident
Italian vaccine TSE accident
Another possible vaccine related TSE incident to man...
Vaccines imports list to U.S.A
CJD/Vaccines/Children -- Confidential
Not For Publication Commercial In Confidence
Commercial In Confidence/BSE/Surgical Implants/blood
Minutes of the Biologicals Committee
Medicines Act 1968 'no restrictions except for scrapie
UK government efforts to sabotage Dealler
Dr. Stephen Dealler. MBChB, FRCPath, MRCPath, DTMH, FRSTMH, DMM, MD.
Consultant Microbiologist presentation to BSE: The Misappliance of Science Press conference 26 Oct 2000
Worked on BSE since 1988. He took specific action following the lack of
an offal ban after the Southwood Report, which he felt to be a major
error. CJD web site
Research interests: risk analysis statistics, methods of diagnosis and
treatment. Secretary of Spongiform Encephalopathy Research Campaign
(SERC) started in 1993.
"It is vital that The Phillips inquiry report leads to a major change in
the way in which science is looked on by Government in the UK.
British embargo on French beef sought
Tue, Nov 14, 2000 By Andrew Woodcock, Political Correspondent, PA News
There were calls today for a unilateral British embargo on imports of
French beef, after Paris announced a ban on the sale of beef on the bone in
response to growing fears over mad cow disease.
The use of meat and bone meal in animal feed has been banned under the
moves announced by French Prime Minister Lionel Jospin.
Windfall profits for US soybean exports?
Tue, Nov 14, 2000 COMTEX Bridge Newswire By James Barnett
Analysts said
the potential for an expanding European ban on bone and meat meal for use
as animal feed could spur increased U.S. soymeal exports over the next few
months. While European demand for vegetable meal could increase by 3.0 to
3.5 million tonnes, observers are hesitant to assume the size of any
potential increase, as both the scope of the ban and the use of potential
feed alternatives are currently unknown.
Frence to Destroy All Meat, Bone Meal for Animals
COMTEX Newswire Wed, Nov 15, 2000
French Authorities claim they will destroy all
meat and bone meal used in the manufacture of animal feed, a French
official advised Wednesday, one day after Prime Minister Lionel Jospin
announced a ban on such feed to prevent the spread of "mad cow disease," or
bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE).