Bovine spongiform Encephalopathy

The bovine spongiform encephalopathy (ESB), also called disease of the mad cow , is a degenerative infection of the central Nervous system of the Bovin S. It is a fatal disease, similar to the trembling of the sheep and caprine, caused by an agent of a type not identified at the time (neither virus, nor microbe), called prion.

The ESB touches mainly the Bovidé S (Bovin S servants and various species of wild Bovidae, of which the Bison S) as well as the Félidés (of which the domestic Chat). It is transmitted by the food ingestion containing of request (in the beginning: extracts of carcasses of animals of squaring, consumed since centuries after a very aggressive treatment, which was softened in England during the years 1980 at the point to let pass the prion in the insufficiently heated “animal flours”). One could in experiments note the possible transmission with other mammals, of which the Souris, the Porc and some Singe S, while resorting however to very invasive methods (injection in the brain).

Epizooty

The disease was identified for the first time in Great Britain in 1986. Since this date and until the end of September 2004, 183  972 cases were noted there. The peak of the epizooty occurred between 1990 and 1995, the maximum of recorded cases is established with 37  280 in 1992. One noted 549 more cases in 2003 and 148 in 2004 (the first nine months). (source the animal World Health Organization - GOOSE))

The disease was exported out of Great Britain starting from 1989, year when 15 cases are declared in Ireland. During the time 1989 - 2004, 4  950 cases are listed out of Great Britain, primarily in continental Europe, like:

  • in Israel (a case in 2002);
  • with the Canada (three cases of which one in 1993, two in 2003 and one in 2007);
  • with the Japan (13 case of 2002 to 2004);
  • with the the United States (two cases of 2004 to 2005 and one case in 2006).

The most touched countries are:

In the worldwide except Great Britain the maximum of case was recorded in 2001 (1 013 cases) and 2002 (1 005 cases). During the first nine months of 2004,377 cases were still declared.

The 1999, the European authorities decided, with the great relief British stockbreeders, the lifting of the embargo, in Europe, issued in 1996, on the British meat because of the crisis of the “mad cow”. The France decided not to apply this decision immediately.

With the Canada it was enough to only one case in Alberta so that the most important customers, the the United States and the Japan, take measures of very severe Boycott.

The direct incidence of this disease, in spite of its spectacular side and the systematic elimination of a herd where an animal is diagnosed, remained relatively weak, since, even in Great Britain, it did not exceed 3% of the livestock annually.

The January 28th 2005, the French ministry of agriculture announces the first case of ESB in a goat of breeding.

Alternatives

At the Man

Since 1996, a bond is strongly suspected between the ESB, animal disease and a new alternative of the Maladie of Creutzfeldt-Jakob, disease human.

In the other pets

The French Agence of public health of the food (AFSSA) published in March 2005 an opinion definitively confirming the risk of ESB in the small ruminants (Chèvre S and Mouton S). At these two species, the transmission risk with the man can be higher, because, in addition to the meat, milk can be contaminated. Afssa considers insufficient the measures of precaution taken; the milk of the suspect herds not being tested, and a part only of the corpses of suspect animals being the subject of research on let us request.

A chronic epizooty of cachexy Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) affects mainly the United States and to a lesser extent, Canada. This disease with let us request ten-per-cent tax, that it is in cattle-breeding farms or nature, the deer tribe which present the same symptoms as the Bovidae reached of the disease of the mad cow, but with a disease leading more quickly to death.

The ministry for the agriculture of the United States (USDA) organized the gigantic ones beaten, requiring the assistance of hunters, with an aim of éradiquer this evil (10.000 deer tribe shot down and incinerated in Colorado in 2004), which appears unverifiable. Several hunters were reached disease of Creutzfeldt-Jakob, but the US government refuses to establish a link with the “disease of the insane stag”, just like with the recent cases of disease of the mad cow discovered in the United States (two) in 2004-05 or in Canada.

Crisis of the mad cow

See also: Crisis of the mad cow

As soon as the media seize the business and that the public discovers the problem, a violent crisis bursts:

  • crisis symbolic system: the public discovers that in the breedings, the cows do not eat only a grass and plants, but also of the food complements of mineral, synthesis, or animal origin. That runs up against the obviousness which these animals, herbivores, are made to consume only grass
  • economic crisis: the public applies, on its scale, the Precaution principle and the consumption of bovine meat crumbles. Prophylactic gesticulations of the authorities, very mediatized and very impressive (in France: demolition of the whole herd in the event of discovered of a case), far from reassuring, contribute to concern, while the exhortations of the political officials to keep his coolness and not to deprive themselves of meat remain by comparison without impact.

Business of the “square-tax” in France

In France, the squaring (including the removal of the died animals, in farm or exit of slaughter-house, unsuitable with consumption and that it is advisable as soon as possible to eliminate in order to suppress any source of infection) concerns the Public service. Very expensive, it constituted, for a long time, financial problems.

The crisis of the mad cow explodes the system. Whereas until now there remained possible to develop certain products of the treatment of the corpses, he is decided, afterwards many pussyfootings, all to destroy, with two cumulative effects: loss of revenue direct, and raises volumes to be destroyed and thus costs. Was added to it, moreover, one problem of stock and expenses of storage, because of the time between the decision all to destroy (and thus to prohibit the use) and the installation of a solution of destruction (which will be found at the Ciment iers, whose furnaces large-scale consumer energy are not demanding on the nature of fuel).

In the logic of public service and principle pollutant-payer, they are the recipients (stockbreeders and slaughter-houses) who should have carried the financial weight of the problem of which they are the source (on the model of the tax on the household refuse, for example). But, in the context of crisis and already started incomes, this solution did not appear politically acceptable.

In 1996 it is thus the distribution of meat which will be taxed. The large operators immediately carried the litigation on the level of the European Union, whereas in 2000 the rate of this tax was quintuplet to reach more than 3%. In 2003, the European Court of justice condemned this tax definitively, as distorting competition because of a base of unsuited taxation. Immediately brigades of control of the tax department tried to peel the accountancy of a handle of hypermarkets to establish that the amount had indeed been reflected on the customers, without useful success (in particular because this rise of the unit prices results nevertheless in a loss of sold volume, and that it is impossible to reconstitute the profits of the distributers retrospectively if the tax had not been raised).

Refunding started to arrive at the distributers, to which interest on arrears - 11 were added to 12%.

From now on, the “tax on demolition” because discharged by the slaughter-houses is the only in force one because it respects the principle of the “Pollutant-payer”.

Tracking of the cases of ESB in bovine slaughter-house

In bovine slaughter-house, the cases of ESB are sought by a taking away of the Obex, a small piece of the medulla hidden by the Cervelet of bovine, in the shape of V. the taking away is then analyzed in laboratory thanks to an immunological test of type ELISA. The laboratory takes the right part of the V, which will be used for the fast test.

Once the known results, the carcasses probably contaminated (the test can appear positive, but thepositive ones can take place) by the prion are isolated human and animal food circuit, like its by-products (meat offals, Suif S, leather, etc). In France, a second test of confirmation with place with Lyon in a specialized laboratory thanks to the remaining part of the obex. The reading of this second test is possible at the end of one week. However, the carcasses of bovines not being able to remain in the refrigerators during this time for reasons of hygiene, the carcasses are destroyed before obtaining the results. The bodies at the risks or matters at the specified risks (MRS) are recovered to be destroyed (Spinal-cord, Intestin S, Rate, the Cerveau and the eyes). The destruction of the carcasses is dealt with by the inter-profession, but the shortfall due to the destruction of the MRS is important for the slaughter-house (approximately 600€ the ton).

The calves are not the subject of research of the ESB, however certain bodies at the risks are destroyed (intestines and the spleen).

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