BSE updates: 19 Dec 2000

[1]
Date: Tue 19 Dec 2000 14:34:14 -0500
From: Marjorie P. Pollack
Source: Reuters [edited]


Germany said on Monday it feared more cases of mad cow disease would be
detected in its livestock following the discovery of a second cow with the
brain-wasting disease in Bavaria.

Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder conceded the government had made mistakes by
not acting sooner. Regional leaders called for tougher controls amid
reports some animals were still being given outlawed meat-based animal feeds.

"It is to be expected that more cases will be discovered with the
introduction of widespread testing," Jordan said. "I can't predict how
many cases we will have."

Authorities searching in Bavaria for further cases said that 2 other cows
in Furth im Wald and Oberpfalz might also be infected. Test results are
expected by mid-week.

Even before its second confirmed case was reported, butchers in Germany
were reporting plunging beef sales. The BSE cases came to light under a
new testing program Germany introduced for all cattle over 30 months old.

******
[2]
Date: 17 Dec 2000 12:00
From: Marjorie P. Pollack
Source: AP Online [edited]


Officials confirmed a second case of mad cow disease in Germany on Sunday,
and were investigating animals from other herds in southern Bavaria state
with initial positive results.

Bavaria's Health Ministry confirmed the disease in an animal near the city
of Oberallgau. The cow, born in 1995 and one of a herd of 80 animals, was
destroyed Wednesday after the initial positive result. Further tests
confirmed the animal had bovine spongiform encephalopathy, or BSE, commonly
known as mad cow disease. The entire herd will now be slaughtered and
their brains examined for further signs of the disease.

Officials are also looking at how the animals were fed, as contaminated
bone and animal meal in cattle feed are believed to cause mad cow
disease. The first confirmed case of the disease in Germany was discovered
last month, adding the country to the list in Europe to where BSE has
spread. Because 2 other animals in Bavaria have also tested positive in
initial testing, their herds are being isolated as further investigation
continues.

******
[3]
Date: Mon 18 Dec 2000
From: Chris Griot
Source: Boehringer press release


Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica GmbH (BIV) has filed world-wide patents on a
procedure to test for bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) in living
animals. Current tests are based on brain histopathology, and can only be
undertaken after the animal has been slaughtered. In contrast, BIV`s new
test is able to measure BSE prion-related parameters in the blood of living
animals. The process is now being validated and engineered into a reliable
high-throughput test. Market introduction Europe-wide is planned in 2001.

--
ProMED-mail


[We don't normally post press releases about products that don't even have
market approval. However, given the recent BSE occurrence in Europe and
previous reports of ante-mortem tests elsewhere, I thought the information
may be of some value. I did feel obligated to ruthlessly cull many
passages of company self-aggrandizement. - Mod.PC]
.

A ProMED-mail post
http://www.promedmail.org
ProMED-mail, a program of the
International Society for Infectious Diseases
http://www.isid.org