U.S. Officials Confident That Mad Cow Disease of Britain Has NotOccurred Here
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The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention does not actively monitor for Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, which is difficult to diagnose in any case. Epidemiologists say at least a small rise in cases could occur without being noticed. Concerns about sheep-to-cow transmission have also risen in the Federal Food and Drug Administration, which regulates animal feed. In 1994 the agency proposed banning the use of certain sheep offal, a move that was opposed by large segments of the agricultural industry. The agency took no action after risk-assessment studies indicated “that having such a rule will not provide any value,” said Dr. Stephen F. Sundlof, an agency official. But the proposal is now being re-examined in light of the British Government’s finding, Dr. Sundlof said, and he expects a decision soon. Major sheep producers have voluntarily agreed not to render adult sheep and sell the rendered products for feed in ruminants and cattle. But Federal officials said it was “very difficult” to verify compliance. Dr. Sundlof noted that even if a ban was carried out, there would be no absolute assurance that farmers were complying, in part because there is no way to test a rendered product for sheep parts. Dr. Hueston said the Department of Agriculture has carefully studied the sheep-to-cow transmission possibility but has been unable to verify it in the United States, either in theory or practice. Scrapie-infected tissue collected from sheep in this country has been injected into the brains of cattle without causing the damage typical of mad cow disease, suggesting the scrapie agent that infects American sheep may differ from that of British sheep. More : query.nytimes.com |