Mad Cow Disease Reported in US
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| Wed, 12-24-2003 - 12:06am |
Discovery of the brain-wasting disease immediately halted U.S. sales of beef to some nations Tuesday, pressured share prices of fast-food companies and raised consumer concerns about food safety -- especially as officials said meat from the cow may have been eaten as hamburgers.
"A single Holstein cow from Washington state was tested as presumptive positive for BSE or what is widely known as mad cow disease," Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman said.
Japan and South Korea, two of the biggest buyers of U.S. beef, immediately halted imports as a precaution, and others were expected to follow suit. Shares of fast-food companies like McDonald's Corp. dropped, and analysts in Chicago predicted beef and grain prices would fall sharply when trading resumes Wednesday.
Mad cow disease, also known as bovine spongiform encephalopathy, has never been found in the United States before. Scientists believe humans can be infected by eating meat contaminated with diseased brain or spinal column material. BSE is not found in meat like steaks and roasts.
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more follow link:
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=578&e=1&u=/nm/20031224/ts_nm/food_disease_madcow_dc

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cl-Libraone
17 years later, Britain still reeling from mad cow scare.
Experts say U.S. better equipped to deal with crisis.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-0312260252dec26,1,5595782.story?coll=chi-newsnationworld-hed
Britain's experience with mad cow disease over nearly 20 years has been traumatic--the deaths of 143 people, millions of cattle slaughtered and burned, the nation's beef industry devastated.
The brain-wasting illness called bovine spongiform encephalopathy is thought to have emerged in Britain in the 1970s.
Scientists are still studying the precise origins and effect of BSE and the related human variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, which can take up to 20 years to develop.
British scientists identified BSE in 1986. The disease spread through dairy and cattle herds in the mid-1990s and forced the government to order a mass slaughter. The public view of the disease was shaped by television footage of infected animals staggering and collapsing.
British politicians at first tried to play down the problem, eating hamburgers in front of the media to show their trust in British beef.
But as the number of human cases and deaths grew, beef exports plummeted. The European Union banned Britain from exporting beef and feed in 1996.
The British government banned the sale of meat on the bone and tightened slaughter methods.
BSE is thought to have developed as a variant of scrapie, an ancient sheep disease. It appears to have spread in the late 1980s and 1990s to cattle given feed containing infected meat and bone.
A link was established by scientists in 1996 between BSE and variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, a fatal crippling of the human nervous system. Variant CJD has killed 153 people--all but 10 in Britain.
Experts believe the human form of the disease comes from eating products from cows infected with BSE.
British experts say U.S. farmers are better placed to deal with BSE because they have adopted safeguards from Europe.
Unlike the United States, where grains and soybeans are cheap and plentiful, Europeans rely much more heavily on slaughterhouse waste to boost the protein content of animal fodder. Cow and sheep byproducts--a major source of BSE transmission--are banned as animal feed in the United States.
Also, Americans eat fewer byproducts such as offal and brains, which are popular in Europe and are thought to be the most likely parts to cause variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease.
Sean Ricard, a former chief economist of Britain's National Farmers' Union, said the American case discovered this week may be an isolated one that can be contained quickly with little or no further damage.
Scientists are still trying to determine the full extent of what happened in Britain.
When the disease first struck, some predicted that up to 100,000 people in Britain could die. Recent research by Britain's scientific academy forecasts that as few as 10 and as many as 7,000 could get the illness by 2080.
cl-Libraone
http://www.greatfallstribune.com/news/stories/20030726/localnews/652913.html
"Mad cow scare killing Canadian cattle sales
By JO DEE BLACK
Tribune Staff Writer
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This time of year, Monarch Feeders just outside Lethbridge, Alberta, should be sending 600 to 800 fattened cattle to the packing plants and buying another 500 a week to finish.
There are no cattle trucks rolling in and out of the 14,000-head-plus feed lot this summer, however.
Since bovine spongiform encephalopathy, mad cow disease, was confirmed in a single cow in Alberta on May 20 and trading partners banned imports of Canadian cattle and beef, Monarch Feeders has bought just 13 cattle.
The impact on Canada's cattle industry is unprecedented in North America. Some economists estimate the industry is losing $7.9 million (American) a day. Ten million cattle are processed in that country each year, but half the market for beef is now cut off.
Cattle ready for the slaughter house fetched 77 cents (American) a pound at the beginning of May. Today sellers are lucky to get 25 cents a pound.
"Commerce in this industry is at a grind, a complete stop," said Glen Thompson, who feeds out 20,000 head of cattle on his lot in Iron Springs, Alberta.
"We have no revenue coming in, and we are spending all our money on grain for the cattle and wages. That dog won't hunt."
In Canada, Alberta is the heart of cattle country. More than 600,000 cattle are fed for slaughter on feed lots in Lethbridge alone.
Canadian officials say fear that swept through the industry when tests showed a Canadian cow had BSE has turned to frustration. Investigations show the case was isolated and it's time to lift the ban, they say.
"This isn't a food safety issue anymore; science has proved that," said Don Weisbeck, the mayor of Brooks, Alberta, a town of 12,000.
He pointed out about 2,700 cattle linked to the diseased cow were killed and tested for BSE. Every test was negative.
Weisbeck said the border lockdown is now a trade issue. He noted Japan is threatening to stop imports of U.S. cattle if this country reopens its borders to Canadian cattle.
Japan is one of the United State's largest beef export markets.
"Once it was determined this (BSE) case was isolated, we were all hopeful the United States would lift the ban in a matter of days," Weisbeck said. "Then Japan made demands and now we are frustrated. We feel helpless."
The financial impacts of the ban are staggering.
"We estimate the loss right now just in just this county at $300 million (American)," said Ed Fetting, chief executive officer of Economic Development of Lethbridge, a public-private partnership.
Canada's federal government and Alberta's provincial government have pooled $343 million (American) for aid for the cattle industry to help buffer those losses, but that money is about depleted.
"If this continues, the loss after a year in this county alone will be more than $716 million (American)," Fetting said.
Up near Brooks, Tyson's Lakeside Packers is running at half capacity and half its 2,500 employees have been laid off.
"We only have 20,000 people in the entire county," Weisbeck said. "It's a huge impact."
Fetting's organization is touting the Great Canadian Cattle Drive -- a promotion with employers including the city of Lethbridge and the University of Lethbridge fronting workers' costs for whole sides of beef.
"They are allowing people to buy $500 worth of beef, then have $50 deducted from their next 10 paychecks," he said. "Our goal is to fill every freezer in Canada with beef."
But such promotions are only a temporary fix for a huge problem, and not a very effective one at that, said Ed Moss, a Brooks-area ranchers and a councilor for the county of Newell, where Brooks is located.
"It's a great show of the Canadian public's support for the cattle industry, but what do you do once those freezers are full?" Moss said.
Alberta rancher Emma Hulit is wondering the same thing. She and her husband, Bob, run a cow-calf operation.
Those calves will be ready to sell to feed lots his fall. But unless export bans are lifted, those feed lots won't be buying many calves. They won't have a market for slaughter-ready cattle.
"People are starting to talk about having to shoot cattle this fall and dig holes to bury them," Hulit said. "What can you do? You can't afford to keep feeding them and there's no where for the cattle to go."
Originally published Saturday, July 26, 2003
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,106725,00.html
Mad Cow Was From Canada; U.S. Exports Down
WASHINGTON
Miffy
I like that headline....very catchy, "Mad Cow Was From Canada..."
Here's another article:
http://www.canada.com/ottawa/ottawacitizen/news/story.html?id=3561bc7f-7022-479b-ba3a-7740f88998d8
"U.S. blames Canada for mad cow
It's 'premature' to conclude infected cow came from Alberta, Canada's top veterinarian insists
Jack Aubry
The Ottawa Citizen; With files from CanWest News Service
December 28, 2003
United States agriculture officials pointed the finger of blame at Canada yesterday, saying that a cow in Washington state infected with mad cow disease likely came from Alberta about two years ago.
The announcement blindsided officials at the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, who claim the U.S. is jumping to conclusions.
While acknowledging that the stricken cow may be from Alberta, Dr. Brian Evans, the agency's chief veterinary officer, suggested that the "premature" blaming of Canada for the case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) was in reaction to the tremendous pressure the Americans are under. Just two days ago, U.S. officials were predicting it would take weeks or even months to trace the diseased cow's origin.
"As yet there is no definitive evidence that confirms that the BSE-infected cow originated in Canada," Dr. Evans said at a hastily organized press conference in Ottawa. "Based on our understanding of the information compiled to date, it would be premature to draw such conclusions at this time."
He said Agriculture Minister Bob Speller has spoken to his American counterpart, "expressing the fact that more investigation needs to be done," including DNA tests and feed tracing.
"While the cow may or may not have originated from Canada, statements made by the USDA may have been premature and are only part of one line of investigation," Mr. Speller said.
It's not the first time the Americans have been quick to lay blame on Canada. Immediately after the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, American media reported that some of the terrorists had come from Canada and some politicians, such as New York Senator Hilary Clinton, repeated the claim even though it was later proven to be false.
And earlier this year, when a massive power outage struck the northern U.S. and Ontario, initial reports blamed it on the Ontario power grid after New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg made the claim live on CNN. It was later found that the trouble started with a negligent Ohio utility company.
Dr. Evans raised a number of issues yesterday, including a discrepancy in the reported age of the cow, which cloud the origin of the BSE case. Dr. Evans also said he hopes the U.S. will submit to a full international peer review of its BSE investigation, as Canada did earlier this year.
U.S. Department of Agriculture officials caught Canadian officials by surprise when they declared early yesterday during a news briefing carried live on CNN that they had tentatively confirmed that the BSE cow had come from Canada.
Dr. Ron DeHaven, chief veterinarian for the U.S. Department of Agriculture, said Canadian officials had provided records that indicated the diseased animal was born in 1997 and was one of a herd of cattle shipped from Alberta in 2001.
While stating the information was "very preliminary," Dr. DeHaven said U.S. officials had traced the infected cow after talking to the herd owner in Alberta. He said the stricken cow had been born in April 1997, and was part of a herd of 74 Canadian dairy cows that were sent from Alberta to Eastport, Idaho, in August 2001, later joining a herd in Mabton, Washington, in October 2001.
Dr. Evans said the Alberta farm involved with the cow's birth herd is located north of Edmonton, but claimed he did not know the exact location. Dr. Evans said the owner has been co-operative, but would not be identified until the case was confirmed.
He also said Canadian officials want scientific evidence, through DNA testing, to match the identified Alberta cow with the diseased cow's brain. He pointed out that Canadian officials had yet to examine the ear tag the Americans say came from the infected cow.
Dr. Evans said when the case was first made public, there had been reports that the cow had been carrying a vaccine tag for brucellosis. He explained that this seemed to identify the cow as being of American origin since the U.S. continues a brucellosis vaccine campaign, while Canada has discontinued its program.
But Dr. Evans said talk about the brucellosis tag has ended, leaving Canadian officials obviously wanting to follow up on it.
During the briefing, Dr. DeHaven acknowledged there is some discrepancy in the records regarding the diseased cow's age. When news of the new BSE case was released, officials believed the Holstein was only four years old.
Dr. Evans pointed out that Canadian records indicate that the cow was six- and-a-half years old when it was recently slaughtered.
The age is significant because the United States and Canada have banned feed that's probably the source of infection since 1997.
He also said the feed, which likely infected the stricken cow, needs to be traced since it may come from either the U.S. or Canada.
"We legitimately feel there are aspects of this that need to be covered off very clearly. At the same time, we are committed to working with the U.S. We feel the relationship is important from the standpoint that these are North American interests, both public health as well as economic that are impacted by this," said Dr. Evans.
"It's in our collective interest to continue to work transparently and co-operatively on the areas necessary to build the case to determine where this cow came from."
If the cow turns out to be from Canada, it would be the second case this year. The U.S. banned Canadian beef in May after the first infection was discovered, sending the industry into a tailspin with losses topping $1.9 billion.
Also yesterday, the U.S. Agriculture Department said that some calves in a quarantined herd of 400 that included a male offspring of the sick cow likely will be killed. The herd was at the farm in Sunnyside, Washington, where the sick cow was from.
© The Ottawa Citizen 2003"
IMHO, the FDA jumped the gun by stating that this cow came from Canada.
It was on the "news" and related to this topic, so I thought I would post it.
Miffy
I also think, based upon the shared guidelines on animal feed and integrated cattle industry (combined with human error) that it's just a crap shoot where it could have shown up first (or where it will the next time).
Apparently there are no restictions on feeding other farm animals by-products from ruminants (cattle) spinal chord and brain tissue. This means that chickens and pigs are given feed with this in it in both countries. Then they in turn are butchered and their body parts are put into feed for cattle (there is no guidelines against using pig parts into cattle feed or chicken parts etc...). This means that cattle are routinely eating feed that comes from animals that have themselves eaten cows brains and spinal chord tissue.
Earlier in the Canadian Mad Cow scare it was rumoured that the infected cow may have accidentally been given feed intended for pigs. I think it was ruled out....but that doesn't mean that it can't and isn't happening. I think the guidelines aren't going far enough on both sides of the border. I think it is unnatural for mainly vegetarian animals to be given meat in the first place and I also think it is incredibly unnatural to have animals cannibalizing themselves in their feed.
Combine this with the potential for human error (or just plain cost cutting) and we have a ticking time bomb on our hands. What is interesting is that there haven't been more cases. I can easily see how a farmer might accidentally give their animals feed intended for another or even deliberatly substituting it if he has run out of cattle feed or he got a bargain on another type of feed. I can see it mutating again and jumping species as well.
I have read about businesses who reclaim animal feed whose packaging has been broken, bags ripped etc....repackaging it and reselling it a bargain prices.
The discrepancy in the paperwork, sounds to me like some funny business on the Canadian side of the border (no reflection on you). Our recs say the cow was 4 years; yours say 6 years. FOX just said that the cow was born 2 months B4 the feed was changed. Sounds to me like a less-than-honest-dairy farmer manipulated the records to increase his profits.
Renee
http://www.coxandforkum.com/archives/000245.html
Renee
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