Mad cow disease epidemic in France went completely undetected.

[Guest guest]

http://www.promedmail.org/pls/askus/f?p=2400:1001:4097343979287052193::NO::F2400\

_P1001_BACK_PAGE,F2400_P1001_PUB_MAIL_ID:1000,25900

 

Archive Number 20040704.1796

Published Date 04-JUL-2004

Subject PRO/AH/EDR> BSE - France: epidemic reviewed

 

 

BSE - FRANCE: EPIDEMIC REVIEWED

*******************************

A ProMED-mail post

<http://www.promedmail.org>

ProMED-mail is a program of the

International Society for Infectious Diseases

<http://www.isid.org>

 

Sun, 4 Jul 2004

Mary Marshall <tropical.forestry

Source: The Telegraph, 4 Jul 2004 [edited]

<http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2004/07/04/wmad04.xml>

 

 

French mad cow disease cases went undetected

-----------

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 7 years after Britain. Just 4 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

Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease

(vCJD), the human form of BSE. If confirmed, the death

would bring to 7 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 1500 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 3 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 1st

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 2nd wave, after 1990, was observed, " they

write. The editors of

Veterinary Research were so disturbed when they

received the report that

they asked 3 independent scientists to evaluate its

findings. All 3

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 3 specialists. "

 

In Britain, where there are estimated to have been 4

million BSE infected

cows compared with 200 000 officially reported cases,

researchers have long

claimed that France underestimated the number of

contaminated cattle.

 

[byline: Kim Willsher]

 

--

ProMED-mail

<promed

 

[The published data, initially mentioned in BSE update

(06), seem to be

consistent with the assessment of the Geographical

BSE-Risk of France,

published by EU's Steering Scientific Committee in

July 2000 --

<http://europa.eu.int/comm/food/fs/sc/ssc/out119_en.pdf>.

 

Its summary concluded:

" The French BSE/cattle system received high challenges

from imported MBM

[meat and bone meal; 46 000 tons between 1986 and

1990] and live cattle

during the 80s up to the mid-90s from the UK. These

trade practices led to

an increasing and extremely high challenge from the

late 80s to the early

90s. Moreover, also the MBM and cattle imports from EU

countries other than

UK, which have shown BSE, did increase largely up to

1997.

 

Because of the insufficient stability until 1995, the

external challenge

led to a significant domestic prevalence of BSE in the

French cattle

population (internal challenge) which gave origin to

an increasing BSE

incidence until 1999. Therefore, the overall challenge

has remained

extremely high up to 1999. After 1996 the enhanced

stability led to a slow

decrease in the newly occurring infections. The

measures adopted in 1997

(feed controls) and 1998 (improved rendering) enhanced

this trend and a

further reduction of new infections and of overall

challenge is presently

expected, although it cannot be excluded that

incidence may continue to

increase in the next future.

 

Assuming that measures in place continue to be

appropriately implemented

and no new challenge occurs, the probability that

cattle are

(pre-clinically or clinically) infected with the BSE

agent will decrease

over time. However, this does not exclude that

incidence figures will

increase until the birth cohorts with a higher risk of

being infected will

have left the system (around 2001-2003) " .

 

The current paper is: Supervie V, Costagliola D. The

unrecognised French

BSE epidemic. Vet Res 2004; 35(3): 349-62, May-Jun. -

Mod.AS]

 

[see also:

BSE update 2004 (06) 20040703.1781]

 

......................arn/pg/sh

 

*##########################################################*

ProMED-mail makes every effort to verify the reports

that

are posted, but the accuracy and completeness

of the

information, and of any statements or opinions

based

thereon, are not guaranteed. The reader assumes all

risks in

using information posted or archived by ProMED-mail.

ISID

and its associated service providers shall not be

held

responsible for errors or omissions or held liable

for any

damages incurred as a result of use or reliance upon

posted

or archived material.

************************************************************

Visit ProMED-mail's web site at

<http://www.promedmail.org>.

Send all items for posting to:

promed

 

############################################################

############################################################

 

about ISID | membership | programs | publications |

resources

11th ICID | site map | ISID home

 

©2001 International Society for Infectious Diseases

.