William Penn Life, 2001 (36. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
2001-09-01 / 9. szám
Stopping the madness A look at"mad cow disease" and what’s being done to prevent it from entering the U.S. If you have visited a zoo within the past year or two, you may have seen a sign that read something like this: "If you are a resident of Europe, Asia or South America, or have spent six months or more on these continents, please go to the administration building before entering this display." Sometimes, the sign says such visitors are not permitted to enter. Period. Have U.S. zoos been taken over by neo-nationalist, anti-foreigner bigots? No, they're simply being cautious. This restriction on foreign visitors is just one measure in a wide-spread effort to prevent the spread of "mad cow disease" to this country. Numerous federal, state and local agencies, including the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and the Food and Drug Administration, are working together with their foreign counterparts to prevent BSE, commonly known as "mad cow disease," from entering the United States and posing a public health threat. BSE (bovine spongiform en cephalopathy) is a fatal disease that causes progressive neurological degeneration in cattle. Similar to BSE, Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) is a rare disease that occurs in humans. In 1996, following outbreaks of BSE among British cattle, scientists found a possible link between BSE and a new variant of CJD (vCJD). While it is not certain how BSE may spread to humans, evidence shows humans may acquire vCJD after eating BSE-contaminated cattle products. Neither BSE among cattle, nor the new human variant of CJD, have been found in the United States. BSE was first reported among cattle in the United Kingdom (U.K) in November 1986. The source of the BSE outbreak is uncertain, but it is thought to have been amplified by feeding cattle with meat-and-bone meal from BSE- infected cattle. To contain the disease, the British government took a number of steps, including the institution of a feed ban prohibiting the use of meat-and-bone meal and slaughtering all cattle believed to be infected. These steps reduced the number of confirmed BSE cases in the U.K. from 36,680 in 1992 to fewer than 1,500 in 2000. More recently, some cases of BSE have been identified among cattle in Health Links For the latest information about BSE, CJD and vCJD, log onto the websites of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the Food and Drug Administration or the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Their respective web addresses are: www.os.dhhs.gov www.fda.gov www.cdc.gov other European countries. Between 1989 and 2000, at least 1,642 cases of BSE have been identified among cattle in Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Liechtenstein, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain and Switzerland. Among humans, the total worldwide number of known vCJD cases is slightly over 100. The vast majority, exactly 100, have been reported in the United Kingdom. There are several in France, at least one in Ireland and, most recently, one in Hong Kong. Government agencies have acted quickly with precaution ary steps to prevent BSE in cattle or vCJD in humans from occurring in this country. These steps include: • Prohibiting importation of live ruminant (cud-chewing) animals and most ruminant animal products from all of Europe. • Examining U.S. cattle exhibiting abnormal neurological behavior to test for BSE. • Prohibiting the use of most protein from mammals in the manufacture of animal feeds given to ruminant animals. • Recommending that animal tissues used in drug products should not come from a country with BSE. • Issuing guidelines asking blood centers to exclude potential donors who have spent six or more cumulative months in the U.K. between 1980 and 1996 from donating blood. • Conducting regular surveillance for any cases of vCJD among humans. • Conducting research on BSE, CJD, vCJD and related neurological diseases. To date, these steps have been successful in protecting Americans and our cattle from these fatal diseases. Some of these steps, such as the restrictions on zoo visitors, may seem extreme. But, then again, so are the symptoms of BSE and vCJD. j\\|»| | William Finn Life, September 2001 5
