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Spring 1996 Newsletter


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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

 

 

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