[1]
Date: 14 Jan 2001
From: Chris Groit <groit@freesurf.ch>
Source: BBC Sunday, 13 Jan 2001 [edited]
The Italian Health Ministry said it had detected the country's first
suspected case of BSE (Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy, or mad cow
disease), in Italian cattle on Saturday. The suspect cow, from a farm near
Brescia in the northern Italian region of Lombardy, had shown no symptoms
of the disease before being slaughtered 2 days ago.
Samples of brain tissue have been sent to another laboratory in Turin for
further analysis. Final confirmation of whether Italy has joined the EU
countries afflicted by BSE is expected on Tuesday.
The Italian government ordered compulsory testing for BSE in cows over the
age of 30 months last November, in line with tough new European Union
regulations.
Italian Health Minister Umberto Veronesi reassured consumers there was no
threat to public health. New checks are being carried out across Europe as
the BSE scare grows. At a news conference he said "We are not 100% sure,
and even if it was the case, it would be the first time an Italian-born cow
had contracted the disease."
Italy discovered 2 cases of BSE in cattle imported from Britain in
1994. Until now, Italy had been one of the few countries in Europe not
having reported any home-grown cases. In the north of Italy, where most of
the country's dairy farms are located, 2 government laboratories have
carried out about 600 random tests so far, all of which were negative.
The disclosure comes amid growing public anger and concern across Europe
over BSE, which has been linked to new variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease
(vCJD or nvCJD), a fatal brain-wasting disease in humans. Infected animals
are being destroyed throughout Europe. Scientists believe the disease is
spread through animal feed contaminated with infected meat or bone
meal. Last week Malaysia followed Australia and New Zealand's example and
imposed a blanket ban on European beef due to concerns over the spread of
the disease.
In December last year, Japan also decided to ban imports of EU beef,
processed beef foodstuffs and bovine sperm. China has also banned EU
meat-based animal feeds. The crisis has also badly hit Germany, where last
week Health Minister Andrea Fischer and Agriculture Minister Karl-Heinz
Funke both resigned over their handling of the affair.
******
[2]
Date: 14 Jan 2001
From: Chris Groit <griot@freesurf.ch >
Source: BBC Sunday, 14 Jan 2001, [edited]
First Mad Cow Case from Austria
--------------------------------------
The first suspected case of BSE (Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy, or mad
cow disease) in Austrian cattle is reported to have been found. A
7-year-old animal that had been raised in the Austrian Tyrol region but
sold to Germany has initially tested positive, according to the Austrian
news agency APA.
Germany recently introduced the compulsory slaughter of cattle in response
to a BSE scare. Austria, which has banned all imports of German cattle, is
one of the few European countries which until now [had] no reported
cases of BSE. The news agency said the cow, which had been tested in the
German state of Baden Wuerttemberg, would be subjected to further analysis.
No cases of the human equivalent of BSE, new variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob
Disease (vCJD or nvCJD), have yet been confirmed in Germany, but 2 people
are suspected to be suffering from it.
The crisis has hit consumer confidence hard. Last week Health Minister
Andrea Fischer and Agriculture Minister Karl-Heinz Funke both resigned over
their handling of the affair. The Austrian BSE fear came a day after the
Italian Health Ministry said it had detected the country's first suspected
case of mad cow disease in Italian cattle. The Italian Government ordered
compulsory testing for BSE in cows over the age of 30 months last November
in line with tough new European Union regulations.
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