[1]
Date: Wed 20 Dec 2000 13:12:39 -0500
From: ProMED-mail <promed@promedmail.org>
Source: AP Online [edited]
Mad Cow Cases Confirmed in Germany
-----------------------------------------------
MUNICH: Officials confirmed the third and fourth cases of mad cow disease
in German-born animals on Wednesday, both found in cows in the southern
state of Bavaria. The fourth case was found in a 4-year-old cow
slaughtered 2 Nov. Earlier Wednesday, officials said a 4-year-old animal
at another farm slaughtered Friday was confirmed to have the disease. The
farms of both cows have been quarantined.
The first domestically born and bred animal with mad cow disease, as bovine
spongiform encephalopathy is commonly known, was identified in northern
Germany last month and a second confirmed over the weekend in Bavaria. The
Bavarian Health Ministry said that yet another case is also suspected there.
Austria has announced plans to ban imports of German beef as a result of
the first 2 cases. On Tuesday, Germany's health minister reassured Germans
that no sausage or meat would be pulled from the market and that the
country's food was safe.
******
[2]
Date: Wed 20 Dec 2000 13:10:14 -0500
From: ProMED-mail <promed@promedmail.org>
Source: Xinhua News Agency [edited]
Iran Halts Meat Import from Germany
----------------------------------------------
TEHRAN: In view of the spread of mad cow disease in the European Union
countries, Iran has halted the import of German meat since early this
month, the Islamic Republic News Agency reported on Wednesday.
No contaminated meat has been imported to Iran since early December and the
people should not be worried in this respect, Samad Yeganeh, an official at
Iran's State Veterinary Organization, was quoted as saying.
He noted that before the spread of mad cow disease, Iran has signed a
contract for importing 4300 tons of red meat from Germany for the current
Iranian calendar year starting from 20 Mar [2001]. So far, only 1400 tons
of meat have been imported to Iran under the contract, and the import was
done before the spread of the mad cow disease, said Yeganeh.
Referring to the smuggling of livestock, he said that to prevent the flow
of infected cattle to Iran, illegal cattle will be segregated from the rest
of livestock and vaccinated against different kinds of diseases.
Earlier this month, local media reports said that Iran is facing the threat
of mad cow disease because infected cattle are being smuggled into Iran
from neighboring Afghanistan. The ruling Taliban militia in Afghanistan
has reportedly purchased infected cattle from Pakistan, which imported them
from Europe.
[Please note the potential for global traffic in infected animals.
Smuggling of animals, use of banned feed, and illegal sale of meat and bone
meal have greatly increased the threat of BSE and subsequent risk to humans
from infected cattle. Sometimes we are our own worst enemy. - Mod.PC]
******
[3]
Date: Wed 20 Dec 2000 12:52:34 -0500
From: ProMED-mail <promed@promedmail.org>
Source: ITAR/TASS News Agency [edited]
No Cases of "Mad Cow Disease" in Russia, CIS Countries
----------------------------------------------------
MOSCOW: There has not been a single case of "mad cow disease," or bovine
spongiform encephalopathy, either in Russia or in other CIS countries so
far. This disease has caused fear and disputes in the West, the Russian
institute of experimental veterinary science told Itar-Tass.
[Please see BSE Updates: Dec 16 for a previous but vague reference to
potential cases in the Ukraine. Hopefully, this is the reason for the
issuance of a denial. - Mod.PC]
******
[4]
Date: Thu 21 Dec 2000 12:09:49 -0500
From: ProMED-mail <promed@promedmail.org>
Source: AP Online [edited]
Japan May Ban European Beef Imports
-----------------------------------------------
TOKYO: Japan is considering banning the import of beef and related products
from the European Union as a precaution against mad cow disease, an
Agriculture Ministry official said Thursday. The ban proposed by a panel
of experts would take effect in January [2001] and apply to beef, food
products made from processed beef and bull sperm, which is used for
breeding, Masanori Hayashi said. The Agriculture Ministry will consider
the panel's recommendation and make a final decision by the end of the
month, Hayashi said.
Japan has already banned the use of animals from 28 countries as material
for making medicines and cosmetics. It also has prohibited the import of
animal intestines for making sausages from some countries where animals are
suspected of being infected with the disease.
******
[5]
Date: Thu 21 Dec 2000 12:15:48 -0500
From: ProMED-mail <promed@promedmail.org>
Source: AP Online [edited]
German Minister: Recall Old Meat
--------------------------------------
BERLIN: A day after reassuring Germans spooked by Europe's mad cow scare
about the safety of the country's sausages, the government's top health
official on Wednesday urged that some older stock of the nation's delicacy
be taken off store shelves. Health Minister Andrea Fischer said
manufacturers should recall foods made with so-called
mechanically-retrieved meat where the meat was taken from carcasses before
1 Oct 2000.
On Tuesday, officials had rejected a suggestion from a European Union
official that Germany's beloved bratwurst, currywurst or even weisswurst
could be suspect. Germans eat an average of 69 pounds of sausage per
person every year.
******
[6]
Date: Fri 22 Dec 2000 13:20:25 -0500
From: ProMED-mail <promed@promedmail.org>
Source: AP Online [edited]
EU Asks Germany To Recall Foods
--------------------------------------------
BRUSSELS, Belgium: The European Union's head office on Friday asked Germany
to recall all food exports at risk of infection with mad cow disease. EU
Health and Consumer Affairs Commissioner David Byrne said Germany should
immediately inform other countries of measures it is taking to combat the
recent appearance of mad cow disease there.
Germany, which confirmed 2 new cases of the brain-wasting disease this
week, announced Wednesday a voluntary recall of all domestic meat products
that might be infected with the disease.
"I welcome these precautionary measures but I insist that they must apply
also to all meat products and meat preparations exported to all other
member states and third countries," Byrne said. "My overriding concern is
that consumers in other member states are afforded an equal level of
protection as consumers in Germany," he said.
German media reported Thursday the EU investigators found lax inspections
by local authorities and negligence in handling feed containing meat and
bonemeal.
******
[7]
Date: Fri 22 Dec 2000 13:15:50 -0500
From: ProMED-mail <promed@promedmail.org>
Source: Reuters Online [edited]
GENEVA: The World Health Organization (WHO) on Friday expressed concern
about what it called "exposure worldwide" to mad cow disease and its fatal
human form, new variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (vCJD).
The United Nations health agency said it would convene a major meeting of
experts and officials from all regions on the neuro-degenerative diseases
striking cattle and humans. It will be held in Geneva in late spring,
probably in May. WHO officials spoke after an informal meeting of experts
reviewed scientific evidence on a variety of issues amid growing consumer
concern in countries including Germany and Canada.
Experts' concerns center on British meat and bone meal exports in the
10-year period between 1986 (when bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE)
surfaced in Britain) and 1996 (when an export ban was imposed on British
beef). There are also wider concerns about European Union exports.
"Our concern is that there was sufficient international trade in meat and
bone meal and live cattle that there actually has been exposure worldwide
already," Dr. Maura Ricketts of WHO's animal and food-related public health
risks division, told a news conference.
Since 1986, 180 000 BSE cases have been confirmed in British cattle, with
1300 to 1400 cases elsewhere in Europe - all but several dozen cases in 4
countries (France, Ireland, Portugal and Switzerland), according to
WHO. Small numbers of cases have been reported in Canada, Argentina, Italy
and Oman, but in each of these countries this was only in imported British
bovine, it added.
In all, 87 cases of vCJD have been reported in Britain, 3 in France and one
in Ireland, according to the agency.
"We know potentially contaminated materials were exported outside the
European Community. We are trying to identify the countries that we should
put our largest effort into," Ricketts said.
******
[8]
Date: Fri 22 Dec 2000 13:23:49 -0500
From: ProMED-mail <promed@promedmail.org>
Source: Xinhua News Agency [edited]
BANGKOK: Thailand has imposed a temporary ban on imports of meat products
from the European Union (EU) countries to prevent [the spread of] mad cow
disease, the Department of Livestock Development said on Friday.
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