FROM THE DIRECTOR
The following is written in response to the recent
attention given to the safety of beef produced in the United
Kingdom.
SOME FACTS AND UNKNOWNS ABOUT BSE
(Bovine SpongiformEncephalopathy)
On March 20, 1996, the British Health Minister released
a statement following identification by an international scientific
committee (the Spongiform Encephalopathy Advisory Committee)
of the illness of 10 individuals less than 42 years-of-age
from CrutzfeldtJakob Disease that "the most likely explanation
at present is that these cases are linked to exposure to BSE
before the introduction of the specified bovine offal ban
in 1989." The British government had said for 10 years
prior that there was no risk of BSE being transmitted to humans.
In a statement of qualification, attempting to reassure the
public of the safety of British beef, the Health Minister
told the same House of Commons audience, "There remains
no scientific proof that BSE can be transmitted to man by
beef." The day after these announcements however, beef
prices in England
fell by 15%. The
Kuspicioned association of BSE in cattle and the pathologically
similar condition, CJD in man, has not been definitely proven.
yhe controversy is ongoing. There are some facts concerning
BSE in the US.
1) NO BSE HAS EVER BEEN FOUND IN CATTLE IN
THE US.
2) The US
has not imported processed beef or live cattle from the U.K.
since 1989.
3) Those live animals that were imported into
the US
prior to the ban in 1989 for breeding purposes have been identified
and are being monitored every six months for evidence of the
disease. None has been detected.
4) In addition to the examinations of laboratories
such as Purdue ADDL, the USDA has had a BSE surveillance program
that has examined more than 2,660 specimens from US
cattle and no BSE has ever been detected.
5) The US
Food Safety Inspection Service is increasing its role in BSE
surveillance with expansion of its current antemorteminspections.
FSIS inspectors are being instructed to look for any animals
that show symptoms associated with BSE and follow specific
procedures to prohibit meat from those animals from entering
the meat or animal food supplies.
6) The USDA shares the concerns of the British
government that more scientific information is needed and
supports the U.K.'s
call for further BSE research.
H.L. Thacker,DVM,PhD Director of the Animal Disease Diagnostic
Laboratory
|