Four cases of mad cow disease in cattle in Canada and the United States and a single confirmed case in a goat in France should not cause panic among consumers and producers over the disease, which is fatal in humans, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) has said.
“The three cases in Canada and the one case in the US from an imported animal are isolated incidents,” FAO animal production expert Andrew Speedy said in a statement.
The FAO noted that these latest cattle cases were detected because of the testing procedures now in place. More than 176,000 tests out of a total cattle population of almost 95 million were carried out in the US and more than 21,000 out of 14.5 million cattle in Canada during 2004. There is a need for a steady, scientific approach to ensure that the disease is kept out of unaffected countries, including identification of animals by use of ear tags or electronic systems, national registration and movement records and compulsory testing of suspect animals, all of which are essential, FAO added.
The agency is working with Swiss experts to train veterinary staff in other countries, including Asia, Eastern Europe, Latin America and the Near East, in methods of diagnosis, surveillance and prevention.
