Jump to content
IndiaDivine.org

300,000 Mad Cow Cases Undetected In France

Rate this topic


Guest guest

Recommended Posts

Guest guest

http://www.rense.com/general54/30000.htm

----------

----

Rense.com

 

----------

----

 

 

 

300,000 Mad Cow Cases Undetected In France

 

By Kim Willsher

The Telegraph - UK

7-4-4

 

PARIS -- A mad cow disease epidemic in France went completely undetected and

led to almost 50,000 severely infected animals entering the food chain,

according to a shocking report by French government researchers.

 

More than 300,000 cows contracted BSE (bovine spongiform encephalopathy) in

the past 13 years, 300 times more than the number of officially recorded

cases, say researchers at France's official Institute of Health and Medical

Research (Inserm).

 

Their report reveals that while blustering French politicians blamed Britain

for the emergence of the disease - and attempted to create a cordon

sanitaire by banning imports of British beef - they failed to adopt measures

to prevent a hidden epidemic at home.

 

Only in June 1996 was potentially dangerous bovine offal banned in France,

almost seven years after Britain. Just four years ago, as France ignored a

European Union ruling that British beef was safe again, infected cattle were

still entering the food chain, the researchers say.

 

Their disturbing findings are contained in a report, The Unrecognised French

BSE Epidemic, published in the international scientific review Veterinary

Research.

 

Their report came as Paris officials revealed the death of a 55-year-old

Frenchman believed to have suffered from variant Creutzfeld-Jakob disease

(vCJD), the human form of BSE. If confirmed, the death would bring to seven

the number of confirmed French victims of the disease.

 

" We estimate that 301,200 cows in France were infected by BSE between 1980

and June 2000, " conclude the authors of the report, Virginie Supervie and

Dominique Costagliola. " There is uncertainty about estimates of the number

of cases in the early 1980s, but the level of animals infected climbed

between 1987 and 1990 and dropped from then until 1992.

 

" Furthermore, 47,300 animals at an advanced stage of the disease entered

into the food chain before 1996, and 1,500 between July 1996 and June 2000. "

According to previous official figures there were just 103 confirmed cases

of the disease between 1991 and 2000, during which period the government

relied on farmers and veterinarians to report animals with BSE.

 

Since 2000, when controls were tightened, a further 820 cases have been

confirmed, according to figures published last month, bringing the total to

923 over the past 13 years - a tiny fraction of the total estimated in the

new report.

 

The report's authors drew on data about BSE cases in cattle and facts about

the spread of the disease to calculate the likely true extent of the BSE

epidemic in France. Dominique Costagliola said: " The French authorities have

known for some time that the official statistics were not a true reflection

of the epidemic. " British cattle feed containing the rendered carcasses of

other animals - alleged to have caused the disease - was sold in France

until 1989. That was three years after the first case of BSE was discovered

in Britain, where farmers were required to report all cattle showing

symptoms. In 1989 Britain banned the use of animal protein in cattle food,

outlawed bovine offal in human food and introduced a mass slaughter plan

under which entire herds of an animal showing symptoms of BSE were

destroyed.

 

France banned the suspect cattle feed the following year and required

farmers and vets to report animals suspected of having the disease. Its

first reported case was in 1991. The discovery of an apparent link between

BSE and its human equivalent, vCJD, was made in 1996 and led to a worldwide

ban on British beef. The ban was lifted by the EU 1999 but illegally

maintained by France until 2002. Yet it was not until 2001 that France

introduced compulsory tests for BSE in cows, older than 24 months, sent for

slaughter.

 

The report's authors conclude that the disease was prevalent in French herds

during the 1980s, but that the epidemic went completely unnoticed. " Only the

second wave, after 1990, was observed, " they write.

 

The editors of Veterinary Research were so disturbed when they received the

report that they asked three independent scientists to evaluate its

findings. All three concurred that the basis for the calculations was

correct.

 

Joelle Charley-Poulain, a joint editor of the magazine, said: " I was very

perturbed when I first read the article. I was worried that these figures

would alarm the public, which is why we had them checked out by three

specialists. "

 

In Britain, where there are estimated to have been four million BSE infected

cows compared with 200,000 officially reported cases, researchers have long

claimed that France underestimated the number of contaminated cattle.

 

© Copyright of Telegraph Group Limited 2004

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/200

4/07/04/wmad04.xml & sSheet=/news/2004/07/04/ixworld.html

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You are posting as a guest. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
×
×
  • Create New...