- From ProMED-mail
- SourceABC Rural, Australia, 2 Feb 2005
- http://www.abc.net.au/rural/news/stories/s1294241.htm
-
- Australian goats could be tested for BSE, after confirmation
that a goat in France has contracted the disease. It's taken 3 years to
confirm that mad cow disease -- normally found in cattle -- has jumped
species.
-
- Dr Greg Curran, from the National Disease Outbreak Response
team, says increased testing may be needed to protect Australian markets.
"Certainly with cattle and with sheep there is a surveillance program,
and that's been going on for quite a few years now, but we haven't been
able to look at the problems in goats. We might add goats to the group
of animals that's checked for BSE, now that this discovery's been made
in Europe."
-
- ******
- [2]
- Date: Thu, 3 Feb 2005
- From: ProMED-mail
- Source: Food navigation com, 2 Feb 2005
- http://www.foodnavigator.com/news/news-NG.asp?n=57782-eu-food-agency
-
- EU food agency to explore 'mad goat' risk
-
- Current science finds no link between goat meat and meat
product consumption and variant Creutzfeldt Jakob Disease (vCJD). But a
group of experts calls for new research, to fully understand the risk this
meat may pose to the food chain, and the consumer. The move follows confirmation
earlier this week that mad cow disease had been identified in a goat in
France. This is the 1st case of the disease identified in an animal other
than cattle.
-
- Following the discovery, a group of scientists at the
European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) are now recommending that more information
is needed to assess the significance of the single French case.
-
- The EFSA panel on biological hazards (BIOHAZ) this week
underlined the need to carry out a quantitative risk assessment concerning
BSE-related risks associated with the consumption of goat meat and goat
meat products.
-
- They expect to complete the assessment by July 2005,
if pertinent data become available.
-
- Assessing the health risk of goats milk and milk derivatives
-- for example, lactoferrin and lactose -- in November [2004], the panel
[said] such products are "unlikely to present any risk of TSE contamination
provided that milk is sourced from clinically healthy animals."
-
- BSE, also known as mad cow disease, belongs to the group
of diseases that also include Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (CJD) in man and
scrapie in sheep and goats. These diseases lead to a degeneration of brain
tissue which takes on a typical spongy appearance.
-
- 1st identified in 1986 in the UK, 180 000 cases of BSE
have since been diagnosed there alone and only 4 [Sic; see comment] out
of the 25 EU member states have not yet declared any cases. BSE has affected
the entire beef food chain, from producer to consumer.
-
- A recent report from the European Association of Animal
Production estimates the cost of BSE to EU15 (prior to accession) member
states at more than 90 billion Euros [USD 117 billion]. In addition, the
BSE crisis has had a significant impact on public trust in government and
governmental scientific advice.
-
- Indeed, the newly created European Food Safety Authority
formed the hub of Europe's white paper on food safety. Cleared in the 1990s,
the legislation found its roots in the string of food safety crises, such
as BSE, in Europe.
-
- While it has been established that small ruminants can
also be infected in experiments with BSE, up to now, there are no signs
of natural infection. The feeding of meat-and-bone meal -- linked to BSE
development in cattle -- is under discussion as the possible cause of the
only confirmed case of BSE infection in the goat.
-
- The goat in question was already born before the ban
on the feeding of meat-and-bone meal. It was slaughtered in 2002. Other
animals in the herd were also examined, but they all tested negative.
-
- [7 EU member states have not yet declared any cases of
BSE. They are Cyprus, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta and Sweden.
Sweden has been classified by the EU as a GBR II country, namely a country
where the presence of one or more cattle clinically or pre-clinically infected
with the BSE agent is "Unlikely but not excluded". The other
6 mentioned countries are classified as GBR III, namely countries where
the presence of one or more cattle clinically or pre-clinically infected
with the BSE agent is "Likely but not confirmed". For further
details on GBR (EU's Geographic BSE risk classification system) see posting
20030529.1311.- Mod.AS]
-
- ******
- [3]
- Date: Thu, 3 Feb 2005
- From: ProMED-mail
- Source: New Scientist, 3 Feb 2005
- http://www.newscientist.com/channel/health/mg18524853.700
-
- Goat found infected with BSE
-
- -----------------------------
-
- A French goat has been confirmed as the 1st food animal
other than a cow to catch BSE. The finding deepens fears that the disease
is lurking undetected in European sheep, which are farmed in a similar
way.
-
- The goat may have developed the disease before the European
Union banned potentially infected feed in 2001. Unlike cattle, sheep and
goats are thought to be able to transmit BSE to each other, and this would
keep the disease circulating despite the feed ban. Also unlike cattle,
both species carry the infection in muscle, making their meat potentially
more dangerous.
-
- There are further fears that scrapie, a BSE-like disease
widespread in Europe, might have masked the presence of BSE in sheep and
goats. So animals that appear to have scrapie are now being randomly tested
for BSE. The European Commission aims to quadruple the number of tests
to assess the extent of any infection.
-
- Before cattle remains were banned in animal feed, French
goats might have run a higher risk of acquiring BSE than sheep or goats
elsewhere in Europe. Cattle remains were used as a protein supplement,
which is needed mainly by animals that are heavily milked. Goat's cheese
is a huge industry in France. Sheep and goats might have been less likely
to be affected in the UK, where they are rarely kept for their milk. [This
might be true in relation to sheep, but goats, in the UK -- as elsewhere
in Europe, are kept for milk production. - Mod.AS]
-
- ****** [4] Date: Thu, 3 Feb 2005
- From: ProMED-mail <promed@promedmail.org>
- Source: EU Press release IP/05/132, 2 Feb 2005 [edited]
http://europa.eu.int/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=
- IP/05/132&format=HTML&aged=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=en
-
- 1st case of BSE in a goat: Member States support Commission
proposal for increased testing
-
- -------------------------------------------------
-
- The Member States today voted in favour of the European
Commission's proposal to step up testing for BSE in the EU goat population,
following the confirmation last week of the 1st case of BSE found in a
goat. The testing scheme was proposed by the Commission to determine if
this BSE case represents an isolated incident or if further measures need
to be taken. The situation will be closely monitored and reviewed at the
latest after 6 months, based on the results of the increased testing and
the outcome of a quantitative risk assessment on the safety of goat meat
currently being carried out by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA).
-
- Markos Kyprianou, EU Commissioner responsible for Health
and Consumer Protection, said "Our priority is to safeguard the health
of Europe's citizens, and I therefore want to act quickly to determine
the significance of this case. That is why we are significantly stepping
up the level of testing. We will monitor the situation closely and review
all the data and scientific advice again in 6 months."
-
- The Commission is proposing increased testing in goats
for at least 6 months (185 000 tests of healthy goats in the EU and 15
000 goats dead on farm) to determine if this is an isolated incident. The
extent of the monitoring programme will be based on the goat population
in each Member State and will focus primarily on Member States where BSE
is present in the cattle population. All confirmed TSE cases will be subjected
to a 3-step testing scheme, already in use, which will make it possible
to differentiate between scrapie and BSE. The Commission will co-finance
this increased testing.
-
- Following the findings by a research group in France
of a suspected BSE infection in a goat, the European Commission immediately
made the findings public on 28 Oct 2004. The case was confirmed on 28 Jan
2005 and today the Commission presented its proposal for increased testing
to the Standing Committee for the Food Chain and Animal Health (SCFCAH),
representing the Member States. This proposal will now formally be adopted
by the European Commission in the coming days and will enter into force
immediately after publication in the Official Journal.
-
- The Annex gives an indication of the number of tests
to be carried out in the Member States. This information is only indicative,
based on the number of animals slaughtered in each Member State in 2004,
to show the approximate distribution across the Member States: actual numbers
will vary.
-
- Annex: Monitoring of healthy slaughtered goats and fallen
stock (6 months)
-
- Indicative number of samples: healthy slaughtered goats;
dead goats on farm.
-
- Austria: 2,500; 100 (**)
- Belgium: 160 (*); 100 (**)
- Cyprus: 2500; 500
- Czech Republic: 40 (*); 100 (**)
- Germany: 650 (*); 500
- Denmark: 100 (*); 100 (**)
- Estonia: 210 (*); 100 (**)
- Greece: 10 000; 5000
- Spain: 62 750; 5000
- Finland: 30 (*); 100 (**)
- France: 46 500; 5000
- Hungary: 300 (*); 500
- Ireland: 450 (*); 100 (**)
- Italy: 30 000; 5000
- Luxembourg: 120 (*); 100 (**)
- Lithuania: 1360 (*); 100 (**)
- Latvia: 250 (*); 100 (**)
- Malta: 30 (*); 100 (**)
- Netherlands: 2400 (*); 500
- Poland: 8600 (*); 500
- Portugal: 6000 (*); 1500
- Sweden: 60 (*); 100 (**)
- Slovakia: 240 (*); 100 (**)
- Slovenia: 10 (*); 100 (**)
- UK: 780 (*); 500
- Total EU 25: 176 040; 25 900
-
- (*) 100 percent testing of healthy slaughtered animals
- (**) 100 percent testing up to 100
-
- --
- ProMED-mail
- promed@promedmail.org
-
- [Scrapie is known to have been under-reported for decades
due to the reluctance of breeders of sheep (and goats) to admit even slight
suspicions of cases in their flocks. The main reason was the stigma of
scrapie (cum tremblente, rida, traberkrankheit) being hereditary. There
will be no problem in achieving the planned number of tests in healthy
animals, at slaughterhouses; getting the right number of appropriate animals
re: "dead-on-farm" goats might be more complex. The odds of detecting
TSE are significantly lower in randomly tested healthy animals than in
clinically suspected or dead-on-farm animals. - Mod.AS]
-
- [see also:
- BSE, goat - France 2002 (02): OIE 20050201.0347
- BSE, goat - France 2002: Conf. 20050128.0312
- TSE, goats - EU: 1st semester, 2004 20050119.0180
- 2003
- ----
- BSE - Canada: Geographical BSE-Risk 20030529.1311
- 2002
- ----
- BSE, goats - France 2002 (02): susp 20041119.3097
- BSE, goats - France 2002 (03): susp 20041211.3279
- BSE, goats - France 2002: susp. 20041030.2929
- BSE, atypical - France: OIE 20040201.0391
- 2002
- ----
- BSE, potential for emergence in sheep 20020106.3180
- BSE, potential for emergence in sheep - EU (02) 20020624.4589
- BSE, potential for emergence in sheep - EU 20020220.3596
- BSE, potential for emergence in sheep - France 20020314.3742
- BSE, potential for emergence in sheep: OIE 20020131.3444
- BSE? Sheep - USA (Vermont) 20020412.3937
- 2001
- ----
- BSE, sheep (model) - UK 20011129.2907
- BSE, sheep - UK: contingency plan 20011001.2384
- BSE, testing of sheep ongoing - UK 20011019.2574]
- .....................arn/pg/mpp
-
-
- Patricia A. Doyle, PhD
- Please visit my "Emerging Diseases" message
board at: http://www.clickitnews.com/ubbthreads/postlist.php?Cat=&Board=emergingdiseases
- Zhan le Devlesa tai sastimasa
- Go with God and in Good Health
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