Monday, February 11, 2013

APHIS USDA Letter to Stakeholders: Trade Accomplishments and failures (BSE, SCRAPIE, TSE, PRION, AKA MAD COW TYPE DISEASE)

APHIS USDA Letter to Stakeholders: Trade Accomplishments and failures (BSE, SCRAPIE, TSE, PRION, AKA MAD COW TYPE DISEASE)





APHIS




Letter to Stakeholders: Trade Accomplishments




USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service sent this bulletin at 02/11/2013 11:06 AM EST





Dear Stakeholder,





As we step into 2013, I am very glad that Secretary Vilsack recently highlighted how USDA resolved dozens of export issues in 2012, and that our Agency played a key role in these efforts.





I am glad, too, that projections tell us we may be seeing the most successful year yet for U.S. agricultural exports. This good news follows a banner year in which agricultural exports reached $135.8 billion—the second highest total on record, and an historic achievement for our farmers, ranchers, and agribusiness. In fact, the past few years have been the best for farm exports in our Nation’s history, making America’s agricultural sector a key contributor to achieving President Obama’s goal under the National Export Initiative of doubling exports by the end of 2014.





These exports support more than 1 million jobs in communities across the country for ranchers, growers, truckers, brokers, dockworkers, fuel and fertilizer manufacturers, and more. To help safeguard these jobs and our economy, APHIS continues doing our part to help broaden international trade pathways for America’s agricultural animals and plants while ensuring they are protected from pests and diseases at home.





On the export side, we worked hard last year to keep international markets abroad open for American agricultural products by eliminating unjustified sanitary or phytosanitary (SPS) barriers. In FY 2012, in cooperation with the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative and USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service, we successfully negotiated and resolved 150 ­­­­­­­­­­­­SPS issues involving U.S. agricultural exports with a total estimated market value of $2 billion. With regard to China, our country’s largest agricultural export market, we established a pilot program to address pest concerns that led to the resumption of log exports from Virginia and South Carolina—helping to preserve total U.S. log exports to China worth nearly $730 million during the first 11 months of 2012.





We concluded negotiations that allow exports to Mexico of U.S. eggs intended for processing ($45 million/year) and put poultry exports to Kuwait and Turkey ($15 million/year) back on track after concerns about avian influenza restricted those markets. Blueberries from Oregon, apples from the Pacific Northwest, and many other U.S. agricultural exports found new or expanded markets thanks to our efforts as well. And in a welcome new development in 2013, Japan agreed, starting February 1, to permit the import of beef from cattle less than 30 months of age. The result: an estimated hundreds of millions of dollars in exports of U.S. beef to Japan in coming years.





Live-animal exports have continued to increase. Exports of live swine, poultry, and horses to China, as one of many examples, grew to $54.1 million from January to November of 2012—nearly a 40 percent jump over the same period in 2011. A singular success in live-animal export markets has been live cattle. In the past several years, overseas buyers have been eagerly seeking healthy American animals with good genetics to build up their own herds. Buyers from Turkey, Russia, Canada, Mexico, Kazakhstan, and countries in South America and the Middle East continued to increase their imports of live cattle last year—almost 120,000 cattle in FY 2012—while new markets such as Angola have emerged. Responding to this surge in demand—worth an estimated $300 million in Turkish and Russian purchases alone in FY 2012—we approved seven temporary export inspection facilities to supplement the work done at our permanent facilities, reduce the distance cattle travel before export, and help exporters meet their shipping deadlines.





In the midst of brisk trading times, the last thing U.S. exporters need is to find their shipments detained at foreign ports. In FY 2012, our personnel stationed overseas successfully secured the release of 324 detained shipments of U.S. agricultural products, from cherries to cotton, worth more than $41 million. We helped prevent such issues from arising, too, with our export certification program, which ensures agricultural products meet the SPS requirements of specific overseas markets before they arrive. In FY 2012, we issued more than 41,500 export certificates for live animals and just over 167,000 for animal-related products. Our automated Phytosanitary Certificate Issuance and Tracking system not only produced a record 580,000 certificates for plant-based exports; it also featured a new Phytosanitary Export Database—a vast repository of foreign country import requirements for exporters and certifying officials alike.





To prevent the spread of new pests and diseases, APHIS has been cooperating closely with key international animal and plant standard-setting organizations, including the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE), the Secretariat of the International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC), and the North American Plant Protection Organization (NAPPO). We have contributed to OIE’s goal of ensuring that science-based standards govern international trade in animals and animal products by, among other things, publishing a proposed comprehensive rule on bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) that brings U.S. BSE import regulations for bovines and bovine products closer in line with OIE standards. We have also helped refine the criteria for pathogens that must be reported to OIE—an effort that may lead to delisting certain diseases that some countries have previously cited as reasons to restrict trade. At the IPPC, we have cooperated on drafting and adopting international standards for a systems approach for managing risks associated with fruit flies and for integrated measures related to plants for planting to ensure safer trade. Our personnel have also helped lead an effort to improve current methods of setting phytosanitary standards. Within NAPPO, our negotiators have promoted not only the use of electronic certification, which expedites the certification process for exports and imports, but also harmonized approaches to managing trade-related phytosanitary issues.





We understand that exporters and importers alike need us to move at the speed of U.S. business. In keeping with our new business improvement initiatives, we shortened the average amount of time needed to develop import-related regulations by 77 days last year. We also dramatically decreased the time needed to complete risk assessments and regulatory changes for imports of plants and plant products, from an average of more than 5 years per case to an average of 597 days. That’s a reduction of nearly 71 percent. In a related development for imports of animals and animal products, a final rule we published last year brings lists of regions recognized as free of or affected by specific diseases straight to our Web site, where they can be amended through a faster notice-based process instead of extended rulemaking.





Augmenting all these efforts have been our many on-the-ground actions to keep America’s exports safe before they leave our shores. To highlight just a few: at our borders, we have continued to partner closely with U.S. Customs and Border Protection in preventing foreign agricultural pests and diseases from entering the country. We have also operated import preclearance programs in 20 countries from Chile to South Korea, with a special focus in 2012 on training and public outreach in the Caribbean. Last year, we brought nearly 125 foreign regulatory officials to the United States to learn disease control strategies, risk analysis and assessment, and other tools to help their countries build stronger agricultural infrastructures that could benefit trade partners on the import and export side alike.





Safe, profitable agricultural trade is your future and ours. As we move forward, I want to reiterate our strong commitment to keeping healthy U.S. agricultural trade flowing smoothly and expanding opportunities for all of you. We look forward to keeping in close contact and hearing your ideas and perspectives on how we can serve you better. To that end, I invite you to keep track of what we’re up to at our new Web page, at http://www.aphis.usda.gov/trade/, where you can find trade-related news articles, Twitter feeds, links to animal and plant export and import data, and an e-address for comments and suggestions. We will welcome your insights and input.





Sincerely,















>>>To prevent the spread of new pests and diseases, APHIS has been cooperating closely with key international animal and plant standard-setting organizations, including the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE), the Secretariat of the International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC), and the North American Plant Protection Organization (NAPPO). We have contributed to OIE’s goal of ensuring that science-based standards govern international trade in animals and animal products by, among other things, publishing a proposed comprehensive rule on bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) that brings U.S. BSE import regulations for bovines and bovine products closer in line with OIE standards. We have also helped refine the criteria for pathogens that must be reported to OIE—an effort that may lead to delisting certain diseases that some countries have previously cited as reasons to restrict trade.<<<







BOUGHT AND PAID FOR BY YOUR LOCAL CATTLE DEALERS $$$







it’s not about food safety anymore folks, it’s all about trade, and the almighty dollar $$$







I strenuously urge the USDA and the OIE et al to revoke the exemption of the legal global trading of atypical Nor-98 scrapie TSE. ...TSS







Monday, November 30, 2009



USDA AND OIE COLLABORATE TO EXCLUDE ATYPICAL SCRAPIE NOR-98 ANIMAL HEALTH CODE










Thursday, December 20, 2012



OIE GROUP RECOMMENDS THAT SCRAPE PRION DISEASE BE DELISTED AND SAME OLD BSe WITH BOVINE MAD COW DISEASE










Reasons for the New Regulation Order No. 23 (as well as amending Order No. 149) of the State Committee for Veterinary Medicine name BSE as the reason for new import requirement. The legal title for Order No. 23 is "On Urgent Measures Aimed at Prevention and Elimination of BSE and Other Prion Infections in Cattle”. Neither Order explains how the threat of introduction of BSE can be addressed through the inspection of producers of all products of animal origin including fish, dairy products, poultry and pork. It is not clear what other concerns are addressed through the proposed inspections. Formal Notification of Trading Partners On August 3rd, Ukraine's Notification and Enquiry Point issued a legal Notification G/SPS/N/UKR/3/Rev.1 found on the Official WTO Website (Committee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures)








Thursday, March 29, 2012



atypical Nor-98 Scrapie has spread from coast to coast in the USA 2012



NIAA Annual Conference April 11-14, 2011 San Antonio, Texas










Monday, December 1, 2008



When Atypical Scrapie cross species barriers










EVIDENCE OF SCRAPIE IN SHEEP AS A RESULT OF FOOD BORNE EXPOSURE



This is provided by the statistically significant increase in the incidence of sheep scrape from 1985, as determined from analyses of the submissions made to VI Centres, and from individual case and flock incident studies. ........












1: J Infect Dis 1980 Aug;142(2):205-8



Oral transmission of kuru, Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, and scrapie to nonhuman primates.



Gibbs CJ Jr, Amyx HL, Bacote A, Masters CL, Gajdusek DC.



Kuru and Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease of humans and scrapie disease of sheep and goats were transmitted to squirrel monkeys (Saimiri sciureus) that were exposed to the infectious agents only by their nonforced consumption of known infectious tissues. The asymptomatic incubation period in the one monkey exposed to the virus of kuru was 36 months; that in the two monkeys exposed to the virus of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease was 23 and 27 months, respectively; and that in the two monkeys exposed to the virus of scrapie was 25 and 32 months, respectively. Careful physical examination of the buccal cavities of all of the monkeys failed to reveal signs or oral lesions. One additional monkey similarly exposed to kuru has remained asymptomatic during the 39 months that it has been under observation.



snip...



The successful transmission of kuru, Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, and scrapie by natural feeding to squirrel monkeys that we have reported provides further grounds for concern that scrapie-infected meat may occasionally give rise in humans to Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease.



PMID: 6997404













12/10/76




AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH COUNCIL REPORT OF THE ADVISORY COMMITTE ON SCRAPIE




Office Note CHAIRMAN: PROFESSOR PETER WILDY




snip...




A The Present Position with respect to Scrapie A] The Problem




Scrapie is a natural disease of sheep and goats. It is a slow and inexorably progressive degenerative disorder of the nervous system and it ia fatal. It is enzootic in the United Kingdom but not in all countries.




The field problem has been reviewed by a MAFF working group (ARC 35/77). It is difficult to assess the incidence in Britain for a variety of reasons but the disease causes serious financial loss; it is estimated that it cost Swaledale breeders alone $l.7 M during the five years 1971-1975. A further inestimable loss arises from the closure of certain export markets, in particular those of the United States, to British sheep.




It is clear that scrapie in sheep is important commercially and for that reason alone effective measures to control it should be devised as quickly as possible.




Recently the question has again been brought up as to whether scrapie is transmissible to man. This has followed reports that the disease has been transmitted to primates. One particularly lurid speculation (Gajdusek 1977) conjectures that the agents of scrapie, kuru, Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease and transmissible encephalopathy of mink are varieties of a single "virus". The U.S. Department of Agriculture concluded that it could "no longer justify or permit scrapie-blood line and scrapie-exposed sheep and goats to be processed for human or animal food at slaughter or rendering plants" (ARC 84/77)" The problem is emphasised by the finding that some strains of scrapie produce lesions identical to the once which characterise the human dementias"




Whether true or not. the hypothesis that these agents might be transmissible to man raises two considerations. First, the safety of laboratory personnel requires prompt attention. Second, action such as the "scorched meat" policy of USDA makes the solution of the acrapie problem urgent if the sheep industry is not to suffer grievously.




snip...




76/10.12/4.6













Nature. 1972 Mar 10;236(5341):73-4.




Transmission of scrapie to the cynomolgus monkey (Macaca fascicularis). Gibbs CJ Jr, Gajdusek DC.




Nature 236, 73 - 74 (10 March 1972); doi:10.1038/236073a0


Transmission of Scrapie to the Cynomolgus Monkey (Macaca fascicularis)


C. J. GIBBS jun. & D. C. GAJDUSEK




National Institute of Neurological Diseases and Stroke, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland




SCRAPIE has been transmitted to the cynomolgus, or crab-eating, monkey (Macaca fascicularis) with an incubation period of more than 5 yr from the time of intracerebral inoculation of scrapie-infected mouse brain. The animal developed a chronic central nervous system degeneration, with ataxia, tremor and myoclonus with associated severe scrapie-like pathology of intensive astroglial hypertrophy and proliferation, neuronal vacuolation and status spongiosus of grey matter. The strain of scrapie virus used was the eighth passage in Swiss mice (NIH) of a Compton strain of scrapie obtained as ninth intracerebral passage of the agent in goat brain, from Dr R. L. Chandler (ARC, Compton, Berkshire).












Friday, February 11, 2011



Atypical/Nor98 Scrapie Infectivity in Sheep Peripheral Tissues










Sunday, December 12, 2010



EFSA reviews BSE/TSE infectivity in small ruminant tissues News Story 2 December 2010










Wednesday, January 18, 2012



Selection of Distinct Strain Phenotypes in Mice Infected by Ovine Natural Scrapie Isolates Similar to CH1641 Experimental Scrapie



Journal of Neuropathology & Experimental Neurology: February 2012 - Volume 71 - Issue 2 - p 140–147










Thursday, July 14, 2011



Histopathological Studies of "CH1641-Like" Scrapie Sources Versus Classical Scrapie and BSE Transmitted to Ovine Transgenic Mice (TgOvPrP4)










Wednesday, January 18, 2012



BSE IN GOATS CAN BE MISTAKEN FOR SCRAPIE



February 1, 2012










Thursday, December 23, 2010



Molecular Typing of Protease-Resistant Prion Protein in Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathies of Small Ruminants, France, 2002-2009



Volume 17, Number 1 January 2011










Thursday, November 18, 2010



Increased susceptibility of human-PrP transgenic mice to bovine spongiform encephalopathy following passage in sheep










Wednesday, February 16, 2011



IN CONFIDENCE



SCRAPIE TRANSMISSION TO CHIMPANZEES



IN CONFIDENCE










why do we not want to do TSE transmission studies on chimpanzees $





5. A positive result from a chimpanzee challenged severly would likely create alarm in some circles even if the result could not be interpreted for man. I have a view that all these agents could be transmitted provided a large enough dose by appropriate routes was given and the animals kept long enough. Until the mechanisms of the species barrier are more clearly understood it might be best to retain that hypothesis.



snip...



R. BRADLEY












Wednesday, April 4, 2012



20120402 - Breach of quarantine/Violation de la mise en quarantaine of an ongoing Scrapie investigation










Michigan and California have had a high spike in Goat Scrapie cases, compared to elsewhere ???





Tuesday, February 01, 2011



Sparse PrP-Sc accumulation in the placentas of goats with naturally acquired scrapie



(Figure 6) including five goat cases in FY 2008 that originated from the same herd in Michigan. This is highly unusual for goats, and I strenuously urge that there should be an independent investigation into finding the common denominator for these 5 goats in the same herd in Michigan with Scrapie. ... California has a high Scrapie rate in goats too ???













Thursday, February 23, 2012



Atypical Scrapie NOR-98 confirmed Alberta Canada sheep January 2012










RESEARCH



Emerging Infectious Diseases • www.cdc.gov/eid • Vol. 17, No. 5, May 2011




Experimental Oral Transmission of Atypical Scrapie to Sheep




Marion M. Simmons, S. Jo Moore,1 Timm Konold, Lisa Thurston, Linda A. Terry, Leigh Thorne, Richard Lockey, Chris Vickery, Stephen A.C. Hawkins, Melanie J. Chaplin, and John Spiropoulos





To investigate the possibility of oral transmission of atypical scrapie in sheep and determine the distribution of infectivity in the animals’ peripheral tissues, we challenged neonatal lambs orally with atypical scrapie; they were then killed at 12 or 24 months. Screening test results were negative for disease-specific prion protein in all but 2 recipients; they had positive results for examination of brain, but negative for peripheral tissues. Infectivity of brain, distal ileum, and spleen from all animals was assessed in mouse bioassays; positive results were obtained from tissues that had negative results on screening. These findings demonstrate that atypical scrapie can be transmitted orally and indicate that it has the potential for natural transmission and iatrogenic spread through animal feed. Detection of infectivity in tissues negative by current surveillance methods indicates that diagnostic sensitivity is suboptimal for atypical scrapie, and potentially infectious material may be able to pass into the human food chain.





SNIP...





Although we do not have epidemiologic evidence that supports the efficient spread of disease in the fi eld, these data imply that disease is potentially transmissible under fi eld situations and that spread through animal feed may be possible if the current feed restrictions were to be relaxed. Additionally, almost no data are available on the potential for atypical scrapie to transmit to other food animal species, certainly by the oral route. However, work with transgenic mice has demonstrated the potential susceptibility of pigs, with the disturbing fi nding that the biochemical properties of the resulting PrPSc have changed on transmission (40). The implications of this observation for subsequent transmission and host target range are currently unknown.





How reassuring is this absence of detectable PrPSc from a public health perspective? The bioassays performed in this study are not titrations, so the infectious load of the positive gut tissues cannot be quantified, although infectivity has been shown unequivocally. No experimental data are currently available on the zoonotic potential of atypical scrapie, either through experimental challenge of humanized mice or any meaningful epidemiologic correlation with human forms of TSE. However, the detection of infectivity in the distal ileum of animals as young as 12 months, in which all the tissues tested were negative for PrPSc by the currently available screening and confirmatory diagnostic tests, indicates that the diagnostic sensitivity of current surveillance methods is suboptimal for detecting atypical scrapie and that potentially infectious material may be able to pass into the human food chain undetected.





Emerging Infectious Diseases • www.cdc.gov/eid • Vol. 17, No. 5, May 2011












Monday, April 25, 2011



Experimental Oral Transmission of Atypical Scrapie to Sheep



Volume 17, Number 5-May 2011









Sunday, April 18, 2010



SCRAPIE AND ATYPICAL SCRAPIE TRANSMISSION STUDIES A REVIEW 2010











Monday, March 19, 2012



Infectivity in Skeletal Muscle of Cattle with Atypical Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy



PLoS One. 2012; 7(2): e31449.











***The pathology features of Nor98 in the cerebellum of the affected sheep showed similarities with those of sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease in humans.











*** Intriguingly, these conclusions suggest that some pathological features of Nor98 are reminiscent of Gerstmann-Sträussler-Scheinker disease.


119











*** These observations support the view that a truly infectious TSE agent, unrecognized until recently, infects sheep and goat flocks and may have important implications in terms of scrapie control and public health.













Surprisingly the TSE agent characteristics were dramatically different v/hen passaged into Tg bovine mice. The recovered TSE agent had biological and biochemical characteristics similar to those of atypical BSE L in the same mouse model.



Moreover, whereas no other TSE agent than BSE were shown to transmit into Tg porcine mice, atypical scrapie was able to develop into this model, albeit with low attack rate on first passage.



Furthermore, after adaptation in the porcine mouse model this prion showed similar biological and biochemical characteristics than BSE adapted to this porcine mouse model. Altogether these data indicate.



(i) the unsuspected potential abilities of atypical scrapie to cross species barriers



(ii) the possible capacity of this agent to acquire new characteristics when crossing species barrier



These findings raise some interrogation on the concept of TSE strain and on the origin of the diversity of the TSE agents and could have consequences on field TSE control measures.











Thursday, January 17, 2013



Canada, U.S. agree on animal-disease measures to protect trade, while reducing human and animal health protection











Thursday, February 10, 2011



TRANSMISSIBLE SPONGIFORM ENCEPHALOPATHY REPORT UPDATE CANADA FEBRUARY 2011 and how to hide mad cow disease in Canada Current as of: 2011-01-31











Wednesday, August 11, 2010



REPORT ON THE INVESTIGATION OF THE SIXTEENTH CASE OF BOVINE SPONGIFORM ENCEPHALOPATHY (BSE) IN CANADA











Thursday, August 19, 2010



REPORT ON THE INVESTIGATION OF THE SEVENTEENTH CASE OF BOVINE SPONGIFORM ENCEPHALOPATHY (BSE) IN CANADA











Friday, March 4, 2011



Alberta dairy cow found with mad cow disease











Monday, April 23, 2012



BOVINE SPONGIFORM ENCEPHALOPATHY BSE CJD TSE PRION DISEASE UPDATE CANADA 2012











Tuesday, October 2, 2012



Canadian veterinarian fined after approving banned BSE high risk cattle for export to U.S.A.









Saturday, January 21, 2012



Quick facts about mad cow disease











*** CANADA MBM LIVE CATTLE BSE TSE PRION TO USA



Date: Sat, 14 Jun 2003 02:23:12 +0200











Sunday, December 2, 2012



CANADA 19 cases of mad cow disease SCENARIO 4: ‘WE HAD OUR CHANCE AND WE BLEW IT’












Saturday, August 4, 2012



*** Final Feed Investigation Summary - California BSE Case - July 2012










SUMMARY REPORT CALIFORNIA BOVINE SPONGIFORM ENCEPHALOPATHY CASE INVESTIGATION JULY 2012



Summary Report BSE 2012



Executive Summary










Saturday, August 4, 2012



Update from APHIS Regarding Release of the Final Report on the BSE Epidemiological Investigation











Sunday, November 13, 2011





California BSE mad cow beef recall, QFC, CJD, and dead stock downer livestock














IT is of my opinion, that the OIE and the USDA et al, are the soul reason, and responsible parties, for Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathy TSE prion diseases, including typical and atypical BSE, typical and atypical Scrapie, and all strains of CWD, and human TSE there from, spreading around the globe.




I have lost all confidence of this organization as a regulatory authority on animal disease, and consider it nothing more than a National Trading Brokerage for all strains of animal TSE, just to satisfy there commodity. AS i said before, OIE should hang up there jock strap now, since it appears they will buckle every time a country makes some political hay about trade protocol, commodities and futures. IF they are not going to be science based, they should do everyone a favor and dissolve there organization.




JUST because of low documented human body count with nvCJD and the long incubation periods, the lack of sound science being replaced by political and corporate science in relations with the fact that science has now linked some sporadic CJD with atypical BSE and atypical scrapie, and the very real threat of CWD being zoonosis, I believed the O.I.E. has failed terribly and again, I call for this organization to be dissolved. ...







Tuesday, July 17, 2012



O.I.E. BSE, CWD, SCRAPIE, TSE PRION DISEASE Final Report of the 80th General Session, 20 - 25 May 2012










Thursday, February 23, 2012



EIGHT FORMER SECRETARIES OF AGRICULTURE SPEAKING AT USDA'S 2012 AGRICULTURE OUTLOOK FORUM INDUCTED INTO USA MAD COW HALL OF SHAME











Wednesday, April 4, 2012



Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy; Importation of Bovines and Bovine Products APHIS-2008-0010-0008 RIN:0579-AC68











Sunday, March 11, 2012



APHIS Proposes New Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy Import Regulations in Line with International Animal Health Standards Proposal Aims to Ensure Health of the U.S. Beef Herd, Assist in Negotiations













PLoS One. 2012; 7(2): e31449. Published online 2012 February 21. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0031449 PMCID: PMC3283643





Infectivity in Skeletal Muscle of Cattle with Atypical Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy






The present data offer novel information on the tropism of the BASE agent and highlight relevant public health issues. While the transmission barrier for classical BSE is high in most species, BASE prions are readily transmissible to a variety of mammals including non-human primates [11]–[13], [35]. Accordingly, the possibility of spreading of BASE prions through skeletal muscle to other species should be taken into account and evaluated in risk analysis studies.














Saturday, November 6, 2010



TAFS1 Position Paper on Position Paper on Relaxation of the Feed Ban in the EU




Berne, 2010 TAFS INTERNATIONAL FORUM FOR TRANSMISSIBLE ANIMAL DISEASES AND FOOD SAFETY a non-profit Swiss Foundation











Archive Number 20101206.4364




Published Date 06-DEC-2010




Subject PRO/AH/EDR> Prion disease update 2010 (11)




PRION DISEASE UPDATE 2010 (11)












Saturday, May 26, 2012




Are USDA assurances on mad cow case 'gross oversimplification'?



SNIP...



What irks many scientists is the USDA’s April 25 statement that the rare disease is “not generally associated with an animal consuming infected feed.” The USDA’s conclusion is a “gross oversimplification,” said Dr. Paul Brown, one of the world’s experts on this type of disease who retired recently from the National Institutes of Health. "(The agency) has no foundation on which to base that statement.” “We can’t say it’s not feed related,” agreed Dr. Linda Detwiler, an official with the USDA during the Clinton Administration now at Mississippi State. In the May 1 email to me, USDA’s Cole backed off a bit. “No one knows the origins of atypical cases of BSE,” she said The argument about feed is critical because if feed is the cause, not a spontaneous mutation, the California cow could be part of a larger outbreak.




SNIP...














Wednesday, May 30, 2012



PO-028:



Oral transmission of L-type bovine spongiform encephalopathy (L-BSE) in primate model Microcebus murinus












Wednesday, May 2, 2012



ARS FLIP FLOPS ON SRM REMOVAL FOR ATYPICAL L-TYPE BASE BSE RISK HUMAN AND ANIMAL HEALTH











USDA TRIPLE BSE MAD COW FIREWALL, SRM, FEED, AND SURVEILLANCE





2012





***Also, a link is suspected between atypical BSE and some apparently sporadic cases of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease in humans. These atypical BSE cases constitute an unforeseen first threat that could sharply modify the European approach to prion diseases.





Second threat





snip...












MAD COW USDA ATYPICAL L-TYPE BASE BSE, the rest of the story...







***Oral Transmission of L-type Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy in Primate Model











***Infectivity in skeletal muscle of BASE-infected cattle











***feedstuffs- It also suggests a similar cause or source for atypical BSE in these countries.











***Also, a link is suspected between atypical BSE and some apparently sporadic cases of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease in humans.











The present study demonstrated successful intraspecies transmission of H-type BSE to cattle and the distribution and immunolabeling patterns of PrPSc in the brain of the H-type BSE-challenged cattle. TSE agent virulence can be minimally defined by oral transmission of different TSE agents (C-type, L-type, and H-type BSE agents) [59]. Oral transmission studies with H-type BSEinfected cattle have been initiated and are underway to provide information regarding the extent of similarity in the immunohistochemical and molecular features before and after transmission.




In addition, the present data will support risk assessments in some peripheral tissues derived from cattle affected with H-type BSE.













Thursday, June 21, 2012





Clinical and Pathologic Features of H-Type Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy Associated with E211K Prion Protein Polymorphism





Justin J. Greenlee1*, Jodi D. Smith1, M. Heather West Greenlee2, Eric M. Nicholson1





1 National Animal Disease Center, United States Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Ames, Iowa, United States of America, 2 Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa, United States of America





Abstract





The majority of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) cases have been ascribed to the classical form of the disease. Htype and L-type BSE cases have atypical molecular profiles compared to classical BSE and are thought to arise spontaneously. However, one case of H-type BSE was associated with a heritable E211K mutation in the prion protein gene. The purpose of this study was to describe transmission of this unique isolate of H-type BSE when inoculated into a calf of the same genotype by the intracranial route. Electroretinograms were used to demonstrate preclinical deficits in retinal function, and optical coherence tomography was used to demonstrate an antemortem decrease in retinal thickness. The calf rapidly progressed to clinical disease (9.4 months) and was necropsied. Widespread distribution of abnormal prion protein was demonstrated within neural tissues by western blot and immunohistochemistry. While this isolate is categorized as BSE-H due to a higher molecular mass of the unglycosylated PrPSc isoform, a strong labeling of all 3 PrPSc bands with monoclonal antibodies 6H4 and P4, and a second unglycosylated band at approximately 14 kDa when developed with antibodies that bind in the C-terminal region, it is unique from other described cases of BSE-H because of an additional band 23 kDa demonstrated on western blots of the cerebellum. This work demonstrates that this isolate is transmissible, has a BSE-H phenotype when transmitted to cattle with the K211 polymorphism, and has molecular features that distinguish it from other cases of BSE-H described in the literature.





snip...





Most significantly it must be determined if the molecular phenotype of this cattle TSE remains stable when transmitted to cattle without the E211K polymorphism as several other isolates of atypical BSE have been shown to adopt a molecular profile consistent with classical BSE after passage in transgenic mice expressing bovine PrPC [40] or multiple passages in wild type mice [23]. Results of ongoing studies, namely passage of the E211K Htype isolate into wild-type cattle, will lend further insight into what role, if any, genetic and sporadic forms of BSE may have played in the origins of classical BSE. Atypical cases presumably of spontaneous or, in the case of E211K BSE-H, genetic origins highlight that it may not be possible to eradicate BSE entirely and that it would be hazardous to remove disease control measures such as prohibiting the feeding of meat and bone meal to ruminants. ...






snip...





MAD COW USDA ATYPICAL L-TYPE BASE BSE, the rest of the story...













Tuesday, November 6, 2012



Transmission of New Bovine Prion to Mice, Atypical Scrapie, BSE, and Sporadic CJD, November-December 2012 update










Tuesday, June 26, 2012



Creutzfeldt Jakob Disease Human TSE report update North America, Canada, Mexico, and USDA PRION UNIT as of May 18, 2012



type determination pending Creutzfeldt Jakob Disease (tdpCJD), is on the rise in Canada and the USA












Saturday, December 29, 2012



MAD COW USA HUMAN TSE PRION DISEASE DECEMBER 29 2012 CJD CASE LAB REPORT












32 year old victim in Washington




Woman’s brain tissue to be tested for disease Pathology center to consider Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease John Stucke The Spokesman-Review





September 28, 2012 - Updated: 9:12 a.m.





Disease investigators have sent a brain tissue sample of a deceased 32-year-old Spokane woman to a national research lab to be tested for Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, an incurable condition that has multiple variants, including one called mad cow.




An autopsy of Amanda Greenwalt Wheaton noted that CJD was a potential diagnosis. She died Aug. 24.




Officials with the Washington state Department of Health were notified of the findings and sent a sample to the National Prion Disease Pathology Surveillance Center, said department spokesman Donn Moyer.




The brain disease is rare. Of the cases that are confirmed, the most frequent is a sporadic variant that can be hereditary.




A different, new variant of CJD transmitted to humans is called bovine spongiform encephalopathy – or mad cow disease. No person is known to have contracted the disease within the United States.




Mad cow disease created panic in the United Kingdom, where 180,000 cattle became infected, leading to the eradication of 4.4 million, with carcasses heaped into massive pyres.




More than 160 people in the United Kingdom have died from the disease.




Friends and family of Wheaton said Thursday they were concerned about the cause of her death. She gave birth to a daughter with her husband, Garick Wheaton, last October.




“I just think the state needs to figure this out,” said her aunt, Debbie Christie.




Moyer said the state investigates all suspected CJD cases that are reported. There are several each year.




“People are concerned about this,” he said. The tissue samples sent to the national lab help lead to an accurate diagnosis and also help researchers as they attempt to track down an infection source and find a cure for all variants of the disease.




Amanda Greenwalt Wheaton was the daughter of Ralph and Kay Greenwalt. She worked at Deaconess Hospital as a pharmacy technician for several years and later worked as a dental hygienist.














Saturday, December 29, 2012



MAD COW USA HUMAN TSE PRION DISEASE DECEMBER 29 2012 CJD CASE LAB REPORT












Monday, December 31, 2012



Creutzfeldt Jakob Disease and Human TSE Prion Disease in Washington State, 2006–2011-2012












16 YEAR OLD TSE MAD COW TYPE PRION DISEASE DEATH IN USA







Monday, January 14, 2013



Gambetti et al USA Prion Unit change another highly suspect USA mad cow victim to another fake name i.e. sporadic FFI at age 16 CJD Foundation goes along with this BSe












Monday, February 11, 2013


after sequestration, eat at your own risk









Friday, January 25, 2013



Japan may relax US Mad Cow BSE beef import rules in Feb 2013
















Monday, January 28, 2013



U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack Announce Agreement to Further Open Japan’s Market to U.S. Beef
















Monday, January 28, 2013




Brazil MAD COW BSE ban to stay

















Friday, December 07, 2012




ATYPICAL BSE BRAZIL 2010 FINALLY CONFIRMED OIE 2012

















Wednesday, December 19, 2012




Scientific Report of the European Food Safety Authority on the Assessment of the Geographical BSE Risk (GBR) of Brazil

















Friday, February 8, 2013





Brazil using USDA BSE mad cow SSS policy FINAL UPDATE O.I.E.







> having been buried on the farm where it died














Wednesday, June 15, 2011



Galveston, Texas - Isle port moves through thousands of heifers headed to Russia, none from Texas, Alabama, or Washington, due to BSE risk factor










Saturday, June 19, 2010


U.S. DENIED UPGRADED BSE STATUS FROM OIE









Comment from Terry S Singletary Sr



Document ID: APHIS-2006-0041-0006 Document



Type: Public Submission This is comment on Proposed



Rule: Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy; Minimal-Risk Regions; Importation of Live Bovines and Products Derived From Bovines Docket ID: APHIS-2006-0041

















Docket No. 03-080-1 -- USDA ISSUES PROPOSED RULE TO ALLOW LIVE ANIMAL



IMPORTS FROM CANADA










PLEASE SEE FULL TEXT HERE ;



Docket No. 03-080-1 -- USDA ISSUES PROPOSED RULE TO ALLOW LIVE ANIMAL IMPORTS FROM CANADA











Thursday, January 5, 2012




Importation of Whole Cuts of Boneless Beef from Japan [Docket No. 05-004-1] RIN 0579-AB93




Subject: Importation of Whole Cuts of Boneless Beef from Japan [Docket No. 05-004-1] RIN 0579-AB93 TSS SUBMISSION




















Saturday, April 10, 2010




TOYOTA VS MAD COW DISEASE USA OIE BSE MRR IMPORT AND EXPORT TRADE WARS














-------- Original Message --------



Subject: US SENATOR AND STAN THE MAN SLAM USDA ''DAMNING TESTIMONY''



Date: Wed, 3 Mar 2004 15:15:24 –0600



From: "Terry S. Singeltary Sr." flounder@wt.net



Reply-To: Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy BSE-L@uni-karlsruhe.de






######## Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy #########




Greetings List members,



damning testimony below. be sure to _first_ open up real player competely, then paste your url in there. this worked best for me.........TSS




US SENATOR AND STAN THE MAN SLAM USDA ''DAMNING TESTIMONY''


Senator Michael Machado from California


''USDA does not know what's going on''.


''USDA is protecting the industry''.


''SHOULD the state of California step in''


Stanley Prusiner


''nobody has ever ask us to comment''


''they don't want us to comment''


''they never ask''


i tried to see Venemon, after Candian cow was discovered with BSE. went to see lyle. after talking with him...


absolute ignorance...


then thought I should see Venemon...


it was clear his entire policy was to get cattle bonless beef prods across the border...


nothing else mattered...


his aids confirmed this...


5 times i tried to see Venemon, never worked...


eventually met with carl rove the political...


he is the one that arranged meeting with Venemon...


just trying to give you a sense of the distance...


healh public safety...


was never contacted...


yes i believe that prions are bad to eat and you can die from them...


END


PLEASE NOTE THESE VIDEOS HAVE BEEN REMOVED FROM THE INTERNET $$$


Dr. Stan bashing Ann Veneman - 3 minutes









Recall Authority and Mad Cow Disease: Is the Current System Good for Californians?


Tuesday, February 24, 2004


JOINT HEARING


AGRICULTURE AND WATER RESOURCES HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES AND SELECT

COMMITTEE ON GOVERNMENT OVERSIGHT - MACHADO, ORTIZ, and SPEIER, Chairs


Choose a RealPlayer video --->





Selected excerpts:


Opening Statement by Senator Michael Machado








Elisa Odibashian - Consumers Union








Anthony Iton - Alemeda County Health









USDA's "memorandum of understanding"








Dave Louthan - Killed the Mad Cow








Dennis Laycraft - Canadian Cattlemen's Association









Stanley Prusiner - Discoverer of Prions









Steven DeArmond - Professor of Neuropathology









Entire 5 hour hearing - The California Channel


(scroll down to "022404 Senate Info-Hearing")










PLEASE NOTE THIS HEARING IN CALIFORNIA, THE VIDEOS HAVE BEEN REMOVED FROM THE INTERNET IN BOTH THE OFFICIAL, AND UNOFFICIAL WEBSITES I.E. MADDEER.ORG AND CALIFORNIA SENATE SITE WHERE THEY ONCE WERE...I HAVE REQUESTED VIDEO FROM CALIFORNIA OFFICIALS, AND THEY STILL REFUSE TO GIVE THEM UP TO ME. wish jay maddeer.org (or somebody) would send me a copy...









TSS


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