French Goat Tests Positive for BSE

[cigalechanta]

The first goat was slaughtered after they discovered it had mad cow disease. Another 200 or 400 were killed as a precaution tho they did tested MC free.

This is in Ales.

[bleudauvergne]

Ales.

What are the official statements with regard to this event?

U.S. response?

Articles?

[bleudauvergne]

Is cow's milk a source of BSE?

Scientific research indicates that BSE is not transmitted in cow's milk, even if the milk comes from a cow with BSE. Milk and milk products, even in countries with a high incidence of BSE are, therefore, considered safe.

Can milk be infected with BSE from a BSE-positive cow?

No detectable infectivity in cow's milk has been reported from any BSE-infected cows. Infectious prions have not been detected by bioassay of milk from cattle with BSE.

Link to FDA website

Hmmm, we can safely assume that this applies to goats as well? (Cheese on my mind)

[cigalechanta]

http://www.expatica.com/source/site_articl...+cow%27+disease Edited January 28, 2005 by cigalechanta (log)

[PS]

From the Beeb

[slkinsey]

From the Beeb

For posterity, it is always halpful to include a short excerpt:

A French goat has tested positive for mad cow disease - the first animal in the world other than a cow to have bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE).

The European Commission says further testing will be done to see if the incidence is an isolated one.

The animal, which was slaughtered in 2002, was initially thought to have scrapie, a similar brain-wasting condition sometimes seen in goats.

But British scientists have now confirmed the disease was in fact BSE.

Some related BSE talk on eG here.

[slkinsey]

http://www.expatica.com/source/site_articl...+cow%27+disease

Again, for posterity, a short quote from Expatica:

It stressed that the Commission was not yet recommending consumers avoid buying products with goat meat but was advising EU states to step up checks for any other goats showing BSE symptoms, such as trembling and lacking coordination. . . . The goat in question was slaughtered in an abbatoir in Ales, in southern France in 2002 but was kept out of the food chain. The 300 other goats in its herd were destroyed as a precaution even though testing revealed no trace of BSE in any of them.

[John Talbott]

From the Beeb

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It's not just the Beeb; all French TV and newspapers ran the story today. But the tone is not alarmist.

[John Talbott]

Is cow's milk a source of BSE?

Link to FDA website

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This AM's radio said that there was no question it was transmitted by animal feed, eg ground up animals, which we'll recall was supposed to have been removed from (the cattle) food chain and stored in huge sheds; but I guess eleveurs continued to feed it to goats. So I don't think cow's milk/cheese is an issue. One thing the cattle raisers complained about at the time was that non-animal feed was something like 3-4 times more expensive, if memory serves me correctly.

[Bux]

. . . .

One thing the cattle raisers complained about at the time was that non-animal feed was something like 3-4 times more expensive, if memory serves me correctly.

←

I'll bet he didn't save enough money on feed to buy a new herd of goats. I wonder if they'll press charges assuming it's been determined that the old feed was still sold and used. The French, for the most part and as far as I know, don't usually eat goat meat. I suspect that's why there's little fuss. Should it be determined that the same feed was given to cattle, there might be a bigger outcry.

[Margaret Pilgrim]

Do I read correctly that the animal in question was slaughtered in 2002 and it has taken two years to determine that it had BSE?

re the eating of goat meat in France, I have bought goat sausage from cheese makers; they recycle old ewes (or is it does?) and young billies that way.

[John Talbott]

Do I read correctly that the animal in question was slaughtered in 2002 and it has taken two years to determine that it had BSE?   

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That's the way I read the article in Le Figaro, to wit:

l'ESB chez une chèvre abattue en 2002

As for the delay, I have seen nothing explaining it.

[docsconz]

I would expect that they wanted to make doubly and triply sure that the disease really was BSE, a previously unexpected finding. I imagine they also wanted to be cautious in examing the other goats as well. The announcement statedd that none of the other goats in the herd, all of which were slaughtered, had BSE. This fact is one reason why the annouincement is low key and apparently has not started a panic.

[John Talbott]

I would expect that they wanted to make doubly and triply sure that the disease really was BSE, a previously unexpected finding. I imagine they also wanted to be cautious in examing the other goats as well. The announcement statedd that none of the other goats in the herd, all of which were slaughtered, had BSE. This fact is one reason why the annouincement is low key and apparently has not started a panic.

←

This AM's Figaro said they wanted to be sure (with mice) it was only the one goat (CH636) and it had a "biological signature" similar to the prion responsible for mad cow and wanted to reassure the public that MILK, CHEESE and MEAT was safe. The goat was born in 2000 before the end of feeding animal grounds (Jan 2001)