12-24-03

With the diagnosis (presumptive) of BSE or "mad cow disease" in the
state of Washington, we need to exercise caution. This is NOT a panic
situation. Facts will evolve over time, but not only is our agricultural
community safe, but so are our alpacas and llamas! Be calm and let the
facts unfold over the next few weeks.



David E Anderson, DVM, MS, DACVS
Ohio State University

-----------------------------------------

12-15-03  Mad Cow

Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathy:

Do alpacas have anything to fear?


David E Anderson, DVM, MS, DACVS
Head, Food Animal Medicine and Surgery
Director, International Camelid Initiative
The Ohio State University
www.icinfo.org


This communication is a very preliminary discussion about the relevance
of concerns regarding transmissible spongiform encephalopathy (TSE) in
alpacas. This issue has been raised recently because of the Canada-USA
border closing to movement of all ruminanting species after the
diagnosis of BSE in a single cow in Alberta, Canada.

TSE's are the prion particle diseases of animals and humans. Prions are
similar to viruses, but much smaller and act to cause abnormal function
or metabolism in the cells. In the case of TSE's, the prion particle
causes a change in the form of an intracellular protein. Cell
proteinases can no longer breakdown this protein causing a buildup of
the protein until cell function degrades. Eventually, enough cells are
involved to cause clinical signs of disease.

To date, we have found no published research on TSE's in South American
Camelids. There has been one published study that looked at the prion
protein characteristics in a Dromedary Camel. Sheep and cattle have
approximately 97% homology (identical sequences) in the prion protein.
This homology may have some bearing on the fact that cattle and sheep
suffer from a similar prion disease (sheep = scrapie; cattle = BSE or
bovine spongiform encephalopathy). The dromedary camel examined had only
92 to 93% homology to cattle and sheep. At this time, we have no idea
what the significance of this finding is. The differences in alleles may
or may not be indicative of a species barrier to TSE's in camelids.

To date and to our knowledge, no camelid has been diagnosed with a TSE.
At Ohio State University, our pathologists examine over 100 llamas and
alpacas each year. Brains are routinely inspected because of the common
meningeal worm infection in the Northeast to the Midwest USA. Our
pathologists have never seen any lesions similar to a spongiform
encephalopathy.

The current state of knowledge of TSE in camelids is severely lacking.
Scientific study will be needed to answer questions regarding species
susceptibility of camelids to TSE's. TSE's are not directly contagious.
The principle risk that an infected animal might pose to other humans or
animals is in the event the animal is eaten. Eating prion infected
tissues may result in infection in the exposed animal. Thus, all meat
and bone derived proteins have been banned from ruminants feeds in the
USA. Thus, alpacas would only become infected if they have consumed
feedstuffs containing tissues from infected animals (e.g. sheep or
cattle with TSE). Affected alpacas would only transmit the disease to
their offspring or to other animals if they themselves or contaminated
tissues were eaten.

This is strictly preliminary and is in response to questions we have
been asked. We will continue to update and modify this report as more
information is obtained.



REFERENCE:
Sequencing analysis of prion genes from red deer and camel.

Kaluz S, Kaluzova M, Flint AP.

University of Nottingham, Sutton Bonington Campus, Loughborough, UK.
virukalu@savba.sk

An abnormal isoform of the prion protein (PrP) appears to be the agent
responsible for transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSE). The
normal isoform of PrP is host-encoded and expressed in the central
nervous system. The recent bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE)
epidemic in the UK and the incidence of prion-related diseases in other
animals could indicate that ruminants are highly susceptible to
infection via ingestion of prion-contaminated food. Sequence analysis of
PrP gene open reading frames from red deer and camel was carried out to
investigate sequence variability of these genes among ruminants.

PMID: 9358067 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

--------------------------------------------------

FSNET JUNE 2, 2003

BSE disease investigation in western Canada

• 
  Canadian mad cow probe enters make-or-break phase.
• 
  Statement of the American Meat Institute on the 'New Scientist' article
  suggesting that the United States must take extraordinary measures to deal with 'undetected BSE'
• 
  Mad cow disease tests food agency
• 
  Mad cow vaccine in works
• 
  Much goes into cattle feed - even eyeballs
• 
  Nobel scientist to join mad cow probe
• 
  Sacred cow; animal rights group's musings don't hold much sway here
• 
  Human activities give rise to new diseases
• 
  Consumers willing to fork out to ensure beef safety
• 
  A cut above: what's safe in a mad, mad world
  
  
  FSnet is produced by the Food Safety Network at the University of Guelph,
  and is supported by: The Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Food, Health Canada, AGCare, Agricultural Adaptation Council (CanAdapt Program), Canadian Council of Grocery Distributors, ConAgra Foods, Inc., Pioneer Hi-Bred Limited (Canada), AgWest Biotech, Inc., Meat and Livestock Australia, National Pork Board, Council for Biotechnology Information, New Zealand
  Food Safety Authority, Canadian Animal Health Institute, Canadian Restaurant and Foodservices Association, Canadian Food Information Council, Saskatchewan Agriculture, Food and Rural Revitalization, Safefood, JIFSAN, American Air Liquide, National Cattlemen's Beef Association, National Turkey Federation, Keystone Foods LLC, Kraft Foods, National Food Processors Association, Unilever UK, Ontario Agri-Food Technologies, Institute of Environmental Science and Research, Ltd., Parmalat, BC Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Fisheries, Feedlot Health Management Services, Canadian Institute of Public Health Inspectors, Ontario Branch, Syngenta Crop Protection, Ontario Corn Producers' Association, Caravelle Foods, Bioniche, Office of Consumer Affairs, Burger King, Sobeys Ontario, The Dairy Farmers of Ontario, Alberta
  Agriculture, Food and Rural Development, Food Safety Division, Canadian Institute for Food Inspection and Regulation, ABC Research, National Meat Association, Central Laboratories Friedrichsdorf GMBH, The Smithfield Packaging Co., Inc., International Association for Food Protection, Verner Wheelock Associates Limited. Ontario Egg Producers, Nestle Canada Inc.,
  The Canadian Meat Council, Chemical Metrology Group, NRC, Marcotte Consulting, Inc., UC Davis Biotechnology Program, Consumer Federation of America Foundation, New Science Management, Inc., Optibrand, Canadian Livestock Genetics Association, Tactix Government Consulting, Inc., International Food Focus Ltd, GamRay Consulting Inc., Safe Foods Corporation, Hospitality Institute of Technology and Management, Inc., Sensient Flavors, Inc., Innovative Food Solutions, Kraft Foods R&D,  Inc., and Global Public Affairs.
  
  The Food Safety Network's national toll-free line for obtaining food safety
  information: 1-866-50-FSNET (1-866-503-7638)
  
  archived at: http://131.104.232.9/fsnet-archives.htm
  
  BSE DISEASE INVESTIGATION IN WESTERN CANADA
  June 2, 2003
  CFIA
  http://www.inspection.gc.ca/english/anima/heasan/disemala/bseesb/bseesbi
  ndex
  e.shtml
      The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) is investigating a single case of
  Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE), commonly known as mad cow
  disease, in a cow from an Alberta farm. This case of one cow was detected as part
  of Canada¹s ongoing BSE surveillance program.  BSE is a progressive, fatal
  disease of the nervous system of cattle. It is what is known as a transmissible spongiform encephalopathy (TSE). Other TSEs include scrapie in sheep, chronic wasting disease in deer and elk, and Creutzfelt-Jakob disease (CJD) in humans.
      This is a brief overview of the testing that has been completed to date.
      All animals from the case farm, the trace-forward premises, the first line
  of inquiry of the trace-back premises and the three farms in BC associated
  with the feed investigation have been slaughtered, which totals just over
  1160 head of cattle. Previously the case farm, the trace-forward farms and
  one of the premises in the primary line of inquiry had been reported negative.
  *
  The additional tests performed on these premises are also negative. In
  addition, negative results have been received on the farm on which pasture
  co-mingling occurred and partial results on the other herd in Saskatchewan
  in the primary line of inquiry are also negative. We continue to await the
  results of DNA testing to help us identify the birthplace of the positive
  animal. We should be able to update you on results from DNA testing and
  the remainder of the rapid diagnosis tests at the next briefing.
  *
  The investigation continues with further trace-out initiatives from the first line of inquiry. As the trace-outs are completed, no additional farms will be quarantined, but individual animals will be evaluated and assembled for testing.
  *
  As indicated last Friday, we released the quarantine on the three trace-forward farms over the weekend because the remaining animals were neither related to the index cow or had a common feed source. This brings the total of quarantined farms down to 14.
  *
  With the negative results on the co-mingled premises we will be moving to
  remove the quarantine there as well. We will remove the quarantine on the
  case farm following its cleaning and disinfection later this week. Lifting
  of the quarantines in BC related to the feed investigation will be undertaken with receipt of negative results and completion of the environmental clean up.
  *
  Dr. Brian Evans, Chief Veterinary Officer of Canada, has commissioned a team
  of international experts to review our epidemiological investigation and response to the finding of a single positive animal. These individuals will be asked to validate that our actions have been appropriate and whether proposed policy adjustments are warranted.
  *
  For more information, please see the Backgrounder / Previous Daily Updates.
  
  
  
  CANADIAN MAD COW PROBE ENTERS MAKE-OR-BREAK PHASE
  June 2, 2003
  Reuters
  Jeffrey Jones
  CALGARY, Alberta   - The sweeping probe into Canada's mad cow crisis
  has,  according to this story, entered a make-or-break stage with officials
  saying on Monday they could pinpoint the source farm of the country's only
  confirmed case within two days, helping to allay fears of an outbreak.
  The story says that more than 1,160 animals from 12 farms have been
  killed  and sent for testing, and 700 of those deemed free of the brain-wasting
  disease.
  Brian Evans, Canada's chief veterinarian, was quoted as saying Monday in
  Ottawa that, "The next 36 hours will be a very critical time for us in terms
  of the quantity and significance of the test results we will be receiving.
  If things progress in the way they have been progressing, if we are able
  to definitively name a source farm through the results coming forward in
  the DNA side of the house ... I think later this week we will be very much
  in a position to fully define the scope of the investigation."
  With the industry losing as much as C$27.5 million ($20 million) a day
  in revenues because of the export bans, and its global reputation in
  tatters, such results could not come soon enough for ranchers, feed lot
  operators, processors and truckers, especially in Alberta, Canada's top cattle
  region. Meanwhile, the story says that authorities invited a panel of experts
  from the United States, Switzerland and New Zealand to audit results of the
  investigation and review Canada's detection policies in hopes that bans on
  shipments, especially to the key U.S. market, are lifted before long.
  Evans was quoted as saying, "These people come with a lot of credibility,
  they come with a lot of expertise. I think it will be important that they
  have a say in terms of agreeing or disagreeing that we have done everything
  possible in this circumstance."
  The U.S. Department of Agriculture, which has been in talks with Canadian
  officials on the export ban, has not put a timeline on when it may be lifted, or loosened to allow products not affected by mad cow disease.
  Agriculture Minister Lyle Vanclief was cited as saying Ottawa is negotiating
  access to U.S. markets for Canadian live and slaughtered veal.
  
  
  
  STATEMENT OF THE AMERICAN MEAT INSTITUTE ON THE 'NEW SCIENTIST' ARTICLE SUGGESTING THAT THE UNITED STATES MUST TAKE EXTRAORDINARY MEASURES TO DEAL WITH 'UNDETECTED BSE'
  June 2, 2003
  AMI
  (Attribute to James Hodges, President, AMI Foundation)
  In the current issue of the British publication "New Scientist," an article titled "BSE crosses the Atlantic" offers a predictably harsh condemnation of
  both U.S. and Canadian regulatory and industry firewalls aimed at preventing
  and controlling the development of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE).
  Predictable because an outspoken contingent of European scientists has been
  demanding for years that both Canada and the United States adopt the entire
  package of strict controls and mandatory live cattle testing that has been
  imposed across the European Union. Harsh because the proposals so
  righteously demanded by these scientists, who have little familiarity with
  the U.S. beef industry, would wreak economic and environmental chaos for
  the sake of feel-good policies aimed at controlling an imagined BSE "epidemic"
  in this country -- despite the reality that this country has never uncovered
  a single BSE case in nearly eight years of aggressive surveillance and testing of the very high-risk animals known to be the likeliest carriers of the disease.
  At the core of the laundry list of reactions these European activists are
  demanding is a call for "continent-wide testing" of all live cattle in North
  America, using the screening tests employed in several EU countries.
  Despite acknowledging that such tests are known to have serious specificity
  problems -- that is, they yield a high percentage of false positives, which would
  require that the animal be tested more thoroughly -- the sources quoted in
  New Scientist continue to claim that our failure to screen all our cattle is
  only "hiding" our alleged BSE outbreak.
  The BSE "program" being urged on U.S. producers and regulators also calls
  for completely banning meat and bone meal from the food and feed chains;
  removal and incineration of brains, spinal cord and spleen; and a total ban
  on the use of Advanced Meat Recovery systems for REMOVING edible beef
  from cattle bones following the fabrication process at packing plants.
  In evaluating any of these proposals one essential fact must be considered:
  Europe has suffered through a horrendous epidemic of BSE lasting more
  than a decade. Even in the last two years, as the incidence rate of new BSE
  cases has fallen dramatically, countries such as the United Kingdom, Ireland,
  France, Germany and Spain continue to record hundreds of newly confirmed
  cases. The EU was forced to impose drastic measures such as those outlined
  above. Their beef industries were crippled; ours are not. Their consumers
  had lost faith in their countries' beef safety; ours have not.
  There is a reason that the United States has not had a case of BSE: We have
  put a series of protective firewalls in place -- which Europe did not --
  from the very beginning of the discoveries relating to how BSE develops and
  how it can spread within a country's beef herd. The draconian measures
  suggested by sources in New Scientist are understandable and appropriate
  for countries that have experienced documented outbreaks involving thousands
  of cases of BSE over many, many years.
  They are decidedly inappropriate for the United States, where vigilant BSE
  testing, strict segregation of ruminant-derived feed proteins and the
  exclusion of cattle, beef products and feed ingredient imports from
  BSE-stricken countries has provided our beef industry with a protective
  barrier that makes the likelihood of discovering even a single case of BSE
  extremely unlikely.
  
  
  
  MAD COW DISEASE TESTS FOOD AGENCY; MORE SCREENINGS LIKELY -  REGULATOR'S
  NEW PRESIDENT SEEKS TO RESTORE FAITH IN CANADA'S BEEF INDUSTRY
  June 1, 2003
  The Toronto Star
  A14
  Peter Calamai
  Richard Fadden, president of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency and the
  man leading the battle against mad cow disease in Canada, was cited as
  saying a lot more cattle across the country will likely have to be routinely
  tested for the contagion to restore consumer confidence here and abroad, and
  that the expanded post-mortem screening for bovine spongiform encephalopathy
  (BSE) could cover all cattle that become seriously ill before slaughter - more than 10 times the number now checked, adding, "We're clearly going to have to do more testing."
  The story says that Fadden, who took over the inspection agency just eight
  months ago, has passed through a baptism of fire during the past two weeks
  while he and his team tracked down and - they hope - contained mad cow disease.
  Yet, when Fadden's 15-year-old daughter asked for a lunchtime hamburger just
  a few days ago, the two of them popped into an Ottawa fast-food outlet
  without hesitation. The 52-year-old career public servant volunteers the
  hamburger outing example when asked if he is still eating Canadian beef.
  "I call that cow BSE," Fadden says, pronouncing the abbreviation as "Bessie."
  "People think I need medication for saying this," he adds with a laugh.
  The story says that humour, candour and a lawyer's training in grasping key
  details have been crucial for Fadden and his agency in dealing with the
  country's costliest and most public food safety crisis arising from one cow.
  But Fadden is no stranger to crises. He was in change of co-ordinating
  Canadian security and intelligence at the Privy Council Office when
  terrorists struck the United States on Sept. 11, 2001. Lessons from that
  experience are being applied now, he says, citing the naming of a senior
  official to keep a daily written record of the mad cow campaign.
  With 5,600 employees, more than $500 million in annual spending and 21
  laboratories, the agency checks on everything from Atlantic mussels to
  Alberta cattle, to genetically engineered food.
  Cobbled together in 1997 from four government departments, the agency
  has been condemned for secrecy, incompetence and toadying to the industries
  it regulated. A Star investigation in 1999 found CFIA had failed to put
  consumer interests first in three major food-poisoning outbreaks.
  But the handling of the mad cow crisis has outside experts like Doug
  Powell, a University of Guelph professor and expert in food safety risks, making
  analogies to top-quality scientific investigations.
  "The CFIA isn't the gold standard yet, but they're getting better. They've
  done a really good job of communicating what they know in the BSE case."
  In his first interview since the crisis began, Fadden was cited as talking
  candidly about the agency's performance and the challenges ahead. Asked
  about Alberta's 31/2-month delay in testing "Bessie," he says "I can't say
  the delay had no consequences."
  Cattle that had been in the same herds with Bessie probably passed
  unnoticed through slaughterhouses between Jan. 31 and May 16, he explains, adding that if these animals had shown outward signs of disease, they should have
  been caught by the inspection system.
  But scientists agree that cows can have thousands of rogue prions in
  their brains the disease agent - and not display mad cow symptoms.
  Asked what age to start checking cattle for BSE, Fadden says Canada's
  30-month-old rule isn't written in stone and the agency could move partway
  toward the more cautious European testing at 18 months.
  On learning from Britain's mistakes with foot-and-mouth disease, he says the
  $30 billion potential cost to Canada of a similar outbreak has spurred extensive study of the British experience.
  Fadden was cited as saying he believes their biggest error was letting
  veterinarians control the government response for so long. "They brought
  too narrow a perspective to it."
  On the agency's ability to respond to fast-changing hazards, Fadden says
  it is responsible for 13 acts and more than 32 sets of regulations, many of
  them decades old. "It takes us 18 months to get a new regulation through. I
  think that's too long."
  
  
  
  MAD COW VACCINE IN WORKS
  June 1, 2003
  Globe and Mail/National Post/CP
  Toronto < Neil Cashman, a professor of medicine at the University of
  Toronto, was cited as saying Sunday that a vaccine for mad cow disease
  could be a year away and that he has discovered a way of identifying an
  antibody specific to prions, adding, "We should have an answer on whether this
  can block prion replication in about a year. At that point, if everything
  looks good, there will be a move to larger animals including sheep and cattle,
  and some real heavy work to see if it could be applied to humans."
  The stories say that Dr. Cashman's research team, which included colleagues
  from the United States and the United Kingdom, found that prions propagate
  through a process akin to crystallization, unlike the growth of viruses and
  bacteria, which depend on nucleic acid, and this allowed for the deliberate
  manipulation of prions, which in turn could lead to a vaccine and the eventual eradication of mad cow disease.
  Cashman was quoted as saying, "You could screen the 10 million cattle in
  Canada for cattle that are incubating mad cow disease, so you would have a
  way of identifying only those cattle that are going to come down with the
  disease rather than just recognizing them when they become symptomatic ...
  which would improve the safety of the food supply, hopefully the world
  around, not just Canada."
  The findings were reported online in the June 1 edition of scientific
  journal Nature Medicine.
  
  
  
  MUCH GOES INTO CATTLE FEED - EVEN EYEBALLS
  June 2, 2003
  National Post
  A12
  Dennis Bueckert
  OTTAWA - Amid all the finger-pointing over who is to blame for the mad
  cow crisis, Baron Justus von Liebig, according to this story, probably deserves
  a special mention.
  The story says that von Liebig was a pioneering German chemist who, in 1865,
  recommended the use of meat by-products in pig feed, launching what eventually became the widespread practice of feeding animal parts to animals.
  This practice -- specifically the feeding of cattle scraps to cattle -- has
  been blamed for the spread of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) or
  mad cow disease.
  Researcher Z.O. Muller was quoted as saying in an article published by the
  UN Food and Agriculture Organization that, "Feeding of animal wastes results
  in reducing feed cost and a lower price of animal products."
  Muller even defends the use of manure in animal feed, noting animals in nature eat their own excrement or that of other species.
  "Pigs freely roaming in villages leave hardly any poultry or cattle manure
  unutilized, even when they are fully fed on the 'best balanced' diets, according to man's view."
  Manure is not on the list of approved ingredients for animal feed in Canada,
  but U.S. regulations permit the use of poultry litter.
  Cattle-feed regulations are complex and, in the wake of Canada's first home-grown case of mad cow, increasingly controversial.
  Sergio Tolusa, feed program co-ordinator with the Canadian Food Inspection
  Agency, was cited as saying that protein from non-ruminants such as pigs,
  horses and poultry can still be used in cattle feed because  their physiology is different from cattle and they are not thought to be at risk of BSE.
  Tolusa was further cited as saying that Canadian regulations are under
  review, but a complete ban on animal protein in feed is not likely. The
  World Health Organization has not called for such a prohibition, adding,
  "We are still faced with a one-off case here in Canada. Going to a complete
  animal-to-animal feeding ban based on a one-off case would be an extreme
  measure."
  It is more likely that the feed ban would be broadened to include pigs and
  horses, and perhaps blood and milk proteins, he said.
  
  
  
  NOBEL SCIENTIST TO JOIN MAD COW PROBE: ALBERTA EXPERTS WANT TO FIND OUT
  WHETHER RANDOM MUTATION CAUSED SINGLE CASE
  June 2, 2003
  The Edmonton Journal
  A6
  Rick Pedersen
  EDMONTON - Dr. Lorne Tyrrell, the University of Alberta's dean of
  medicine, was cited as saying Sunday that Nobel Prize winner Dr. Stanley Prusiner
  will help Alberta experts find out if this province's lone case of mad cow
  disease was caused by a random mutation, adding, "We really hope this
  will be a spontaneous case. That is the most important question which needs
  to be answered."
  Prusiner was cited as telling Tyrrell by phone Friday he will help study
  the prions found in the brain of the diseased Alberta cow, to see if this is
  an infection caught from another animal or if it is a random mutation affecting
  just one cow.
  
  
  
  SACRED COW; ANIMAL RIGHTS GROUP'S MUSINGS DON'T HOLD MUCH SWAY HERE
  June 2, 2003
  The Calgary Sun
  15
  Bill Kaufmann
  It must, according to this story, be an "I told you so" moment for the folks
  down at the Norfolk, Va. headquarters of People for the Ethical Treatment of
  Animals (PETA).
  Bruce Friedrich, PETA's top vegan tries hard not to gloat, casting the focus
  on what his group calls the "holocaust on your plate. When the industry is
  so totally and gratuitously abusing (cattle) and the animals are suffering
  so miserably, the last thing on your mind is 'I told you so.'    The last thing we want is for people to eat more chickens."
  But, the story says, the movement's website has seized the bovine moment of
  madness, with the logo of a frothing steer imposed over the universal hazard
  symbol.
  "It's mad to eat meat," reads a sub-headline, which adds bovine spongiform
  encephalopathy to the threat of salmonella, E. coli, heart disease and cancer posed by red meat.
  PETA troops have taken to handing out "vegetarian starter kits" in front of
  supermarkets in Calgary and Edmonton.
  As Albertans desperately wage their war on negative perception, PETA's
  nattering nabobs must be as welcome here as mad cow under cellophane at
  the meat counter.
  Not so, insists Friedrich, who describes a friendly reception on our prairie
  that sounds more fictional than factual.
  
  
  
  
  HUMAN ACTIVITIES GIVE RISE TO NEW DISEASES
  May 28, 2003
  CNEWS Science
  David Suzuki
  http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Science/Suzuki/2003/05/28/97931.html
  SARS, BSE and West Nile aren't just making headlines, they're making
  history. These diseases are truly products of our age - an age of global
  transport, industrialized agriculture and global warming. And they represent
  the tip of the iceberg in terms of emerging diseases.
  Suzuki says that humans today are pushing every conceivable ecological
  boundary. We are displacing animal habitats, feeding meat products to
  herbivores, dining on exotic predators and doing it all while rushing madly
  about the planet in cars, boats and jet airplanes. We are everywhere and
  meddling in everything. As a result, we are being exposed to "new" diseases
  that have never before infected humans.
  Look at SARS. It now appears this latest disease epidemic may have
  originated in civet cats - a small, wild, nocturnal mammal that happens to
  be considered a delicacy in southern China. Humans may have become infected
  when these animals were slaughtered for food.
  That sounds disconcertingly familiar to another global disease epidemic that
  has now killed nearly 20 million people worldwide - AIDS. HIV, the virus
  believed to cause AIDS is thought to have been spread to humans from
  chimpanzees through the bushmeat trade. AIDS has taken a tremendous toll in
  Africa. In the next 17 years, some 55 million Africans are expected to die
  from the disease.
  And there's more. Earlier this spring, a Dutch veterinarian became the first
  human to succumb to the Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza that has been
  ravaging poultry farms in the Netherlands. About 100 other people also
  contracted the disease, which forced authorities there to slaughter more
  than 18 million chickens. The disease has also spread to pigs, which are
  ideal virus incubators and can act as intermediaries for a virus to spread
  from other animals to humans.
  Four years ago that happened when Malaysian pig farmers hacked into forests
  to make room for their farms. Fruit bats that used to live in the forests began to roost in barns and building rafters. Their droppings, which carried a virus called Nipah, contaminated the pigs' feed. Although the virus appears to be harmless to bats, it causes a brutal cough and often death in pigs. From the infected pigs, the virus soon spread to farm workers, who developed similar symptoms. More than 100 people died and authorities had to slaughter more than a million pigs.
  Experts say that we are entering a new age of infectious disease and it's
  largely due to human activities. When we push deep into forests and jungles,
  we expose ourselves to new diseases. When we practice intensive livestock
  farming and feed herbivores to herbivores, we create ideal conditions for
  the spread of disease. As we change the climate, we create new vectors for
  disease to spread. The growth of international trade and travel further increases the capacity for diseases to flourish.
  Some of these factors we cannot change. But some we can. We can work to end
  the bushmeat trade in Africa and Asia. We can curtail the continued destruction of our forests. We can enforce better livestock practices.
  We can reduce the fossil fuel emissions that are causing global warming.
  Indeed, these are steps we must take if we want a healthier future.
  
  
  
  
  CONSUMERS WILLING TO FORK OUT TO ENSURE BEEF SAFETY
  June 1, 2003
  The Edmonton Journal
  Page: A2
  Rick Pedersen
  EDMONTON - Half of North American consumers are, according to this
  story, willing to pay extra to ensure their beef is free of mad cow disease by
  tracing every single cow if health questions are raised about its meat.
  Economist DeeVon Bailey of Utah State University was quoted as telling a
  conference on branding, labelling and identity preservation, at the
  University of Alberta's Telus Centre on Tuesday that the research, conducted
  in Canada and the United States before the Alberta mad cow furor that,
  "The cost would be cents on the pound, not dollars."
  No precise cost estimate is possible until planners decide how the idea
  will be put into place, but Bailey said Europeans are paying extra to make
  sure their beef can be tracked to the source if mad cow disease threatens the
  beef supply.
  An improved Canadian tracing system could help restore the reputation of
  Alberta beef south of the border, Bailey said.
  Ellen Goddard, acting chairwoman for the University of Alberta's
  Department of Rural Economy, was cited as saying beef is facing a strong challenge from chicken as health-and-diet-conscious consumers reconsider their options.
  
  Once an improved tracking system is in place, Goddard said health-conscious
  consumers could be attracted to beef by the extra protection.
  "They would be willing to pay a premium," she said. Kevin Grier, senior market analyst with the Guelph-based George Morris Centre, said consumption figures clearly show Canadians have not lost their appetite for beef.
  "This is a non-event at the consumer level," he said, speaking for the
  independent agri-food think-tank. "People are still purchasing beef."
  
  
  
  A CUT ABOVE: WHAT'S SAFE IN A MAD, MAD WORLD
  June 2, 2003
  Macleans
  http://www.macleans.ca/xta-doc2/2003/06/02/Agriculture/60283.shtml
  The foofaraw surrounding the discovery of a case of mad cow disease in
  Alberta is, according to this story, enough to tempt the most committed
  carnivore into becoming a vegetarian. But as authorities like to remind us,
  Canada produces some of the safest food in the world. There's no need to
  panic, especially when you're armed with some useful information. The
  story says that: Milk and all milk products are safe. So are collagen and gelatin
  prepared from hides and skins. Gelatin, a key ingredient in fruit and dessert
  jellies, is also used in pharmaceuticals and pet food, while collagen is
  used in plastic surgery, among other things.
  A bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) infection has never been
  detected in skeletal muscle tissue, from which the majority of quality meat,
  including steaks and roasts, is derived.
  The BSE infection in 90 per cent of cases has been found in the cow's
  brain or spinal cord.
  Experts say bits of spinal cord could be found in mechanically recovered
  meat. That meat is the residue taken off the carcass after the prime cuts
  have been removed. Experts believe BSE has been transmitted to humans
  through hamburger and other products that contain infected mechanically
  recovered meat.
  Feeding protein from slaughtered ruminants, including cattle, sheep and
  goats, to other ruminants -- believed to be the main way the disease is
  transmitted -- has been banned in Canada since 1997. Still, some consider
  organic livestock herds to be the safest bet.
  BSE has an incubation period of four to five years, but cattle may not
  show any symptoms until later in life. Younger cattle are less likely to have
  contracted the disease.

------------------


5-20-2003  * *  National Lama Health & Government Relations Committee
Alert
                           * *   Mad Cow Disease

Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (aka Mad Cow Disease) has today been
confirmed in an 8 year old cow sent to slaughter in Canada.  The cow was
tested as part of Canada's ongoing BSE surveillance program. Prior to
this case of BSE, the only prior confirmed case in Canada was found in a
beef cow imported from Britain in 1987 that was immediately destroyed.


Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) is a chronic, degenerative
disorder affecting the central nervous system of cattle and was first
diagnosed in Great Britain. Though the majority of the confirmed cases
to date have been from the United Kingdom, BSE has also been confirmed
cattle in Belgium, France, Germany, Spain, and Switzerland.  BSE has not
been confirmed in the US.


BSE part of  an animal and human disease group known as Transmissible
Spongiform Encephalopathies (TSE's).  TSE's have been confirmed in a
number of different animal species.  One, Scrapie, has been described in
sheep and goats for hundreds of years, Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) has
been well documented for a number of years in elk and deer populations
throughout Colorado, Wyoming and various other states as well as Canada.
TSE's have been further documented in mink and cats and humans are also
susceptible. Perhaps the best-known human TSE is Creutzfeldt-Jakob
disease (CJD). Presently, animal and human TSE's have no treatments or
preventative vaccines and are fatal.


The US government has taken aggressive actions since the late 1980's in
order to protect our country from BSE and/or other Foreign Animal
Diseases. As part of these preventative measures, USDA has just
announced today that it is "placing Canada under BSE restriction
guidelines and will not accept any ruminants or ruminant products from
Canada pending further
investigation."   For a number of years now, USDA has prohibited
importation of live ruminants including cattle, sheep and goats from
countries that are "at risk for having BSE".


Members of the National Lama Health & Government Relations Committee are
monitoring this situation and are in contact with USDA, USAHA and State
Vet personnel as we work to mitigate potential negative impact to the
llama and alpaca industry.  We are advancing critical distinctions that
uniquely set llamas and alpacas apart from the food chain destined and
true ruminant species that notably are included on the USDA import
restriction list.

Please feel free to contact us with any questions.

Teri Nilson Baird:       Ph: 303-646-4373        email:
teri@brokenwindmill.com
Karen Conyngham:   Ph: 512-328-8715        email:
72040.3361@compuserve..com
Dan Goodyear:            Ph: 610-488-6666        email: BALDAN@aol.com
Marsharee Wilcox:        Ph: 410-374-3783        email:
evllamas@bellatlantic.net

-------------------

IF YOU ARE NOT AWARE, AN 8-YEAR OLD COW IN ALBERTA, CANADA WAS DIAGNOSEDWITH BSE THIS YEAR. NOW, THIS IS NOTHING TO GET HISTERICAL ABOUT. THECANADIANS ARE DOING A VERY THOROUGH JOB RESEARCHING AND TRACKING THISCOW. THEY HAVE A MORE ADVANCED / SOPHISTICATED TRACKING SYSTEM THAN WEHAVE IN THE USA, SO I AM SURE THEY WILL GET TO THE BOTTOM OF IT QUICKLY.
HOWEVER, THE USA HAS BANNED MOVEMENT OF ANY RUMINANT SPECIES FROM CANADAINTO THE USA FROT EH TIME BEING. AT LEAST IN THE MESSAGE INCLUDED BELOW,THEY SEEM TO INCLUDE CAMELIDS. WE WILL KEEP YOU APPRISED.             

    May 20, 2003

Subject:   Clarification of the Prohibition of the Importation of all Live
Ruminants, Ruminant Meat, Ruminant Meat Products and Other Ruminant
Protein Products from Canada due to Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE)

To:             Regional Directors, VS
           Veterinary Regulatory Support, PPQ


On May 20, 2003, Mr. Bobby R. Acord, Administrator, Animal and Plant
Health Inspection Service (APHIS) received information from Dr. Sarah
Kahn, Chief Veterinary Officer and Director, Animal Health and
Production Division, Canadian Food Inspection Agency, reporting a
confirmed case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy.  Due to this
reporting, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), APHIS, Veterinary
Services (VS) is placing a prohibition on the importation of all live
ruminants (such as cattle, sheep, goats, cervids, camelids), ruminant
meat, ruminant meat products and other ruminant products from Canada.
This prohibition is effective as of 1:30 p.m., May 20, 2003.  APHIS
believes that emergency measures are necessary to minimize risk to
livestock, livestock producers and other industries in the United
States.

We are suspending the following animals and animal products from Canada:

     1. Live ruminants (imports and transits);
     2. Processed animal protein (such as meat and bone meal, meat meal,
     bone meal, blood meal, protein meal, etc.), regardless of species of
     origin (not intended to exclude human food in prepackaged, final form);
     3. Animal feed (unless demonstrated to be of exclusively milk or
     non-animal origin);
     4. Pet food (unless animal protein is non-mammalian origin, under permit          conditions);
     5. Milk replacers containing animal fat or non-milk animal protein;
     6. Ruminant blood and blood products;
     7. Animal vaccines containing ruminant-derived products;
     8. Ruminant offal (internal organs, intestines and tissues not otherwise specified);
     9. Ruminant casings;
     10. Ruminant glands (including but not limited to adrenal, pancreas,
     thymus, thyroid, pituitary, etc.);
     11. Ruminant gland extracts/derivatives;
     12. Unprocessed ruminant fat;
     13. Processed fats and oils;
     14. Nutritional supplements containing specified risk materials (SRMs)both in bulk and in final finished package for human or animal consumption;
     15. Ruminant bones;
     16. Tankage;
     17. Tallow, except for tallow derivatives;
     18. Ruminant bone-derived gelatin for animal use (permit and additional
     conditions will allow imports for non-animal/industrial use);
     19. Ruminant-derived cartilage and/or chondroitin sulfate;
     20. Non-hide derived collagen (exemptions similar to those for gelatin
     for    non-animal use); and
     21. Ruminant urine/urine derivatives.
     22. Ruminant meat and meat products


The following animal and animal products are still eligible for entry:
milk, milk products, ruminant hide derived products, ruminant semen and
embryos.  Semen and embryo import protocols that include the BSE
certification statements will be completed shortly.

Thank you for your cooperation and support.

Karen A. James-Preston, DVM
Director
Technical Trade Services
National Center for Import and Export

• --------------------------------------------------------------

The above compilation of articles about "BSE" was provided by

David E Anderson, DVM, MS
College of Veterinary Medicine
The Ohio State University

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