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Chapters 10 & 11. By: Tanisha Bethea. Chapter 10: Keeping the Madness Out. “Several measures help ensure that animal prion diseases do not contaminiate the U.S. food supply—but there are gaps.”. Economic Benefit vs. Unwanted Goods. Travel and trade have brought numerous benefits
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Chapters 10 & 11 By: Tanisha Bethea
Chapter 10: Keeping the Madness Out • “Several measures help ensure that animal prion diseases do not contaminiate the U.S. food supply—but there are gaps.”
Economic Benefit vs. Unwanted Goods • Travel and trade have brought numerous benefits • Technology, food items, clothing…etc • And unwanted goods: • Zebra Mussels: ecological destruction • Long-horned beetles • West Nile Virus • Imported beef BSE?
Cows in the Crosshairs • Corporate Blvd in New Jersey home of Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, an arm of the USDA • Mission to protect American agriculture • Linda Detwiler-government senior staff vet • Detwiler’s responsibilities: APHIS surveillance coordination, prevention, educatoin activities and helped develop the U.S. response plan in the event a mad cow is discovered • Media spokesperson for TSE related issue
Cows in the Crosshairs CNTD. • Conflicting roles of the USDA • Consumer protector as well as advocate for industry helping ranchers, farmers etc. • Mad cows secretly wandering American feed lots? • Early on the U.S. didn’t look very hard. BSE testing in cattle brains began in 1990. • Was U.S. doing enough? • They argue yes.
Bovine Barricades • Protection stems from regulations Detwiler claims restrictions already in place spared the U.S. • Says restrictions actually prevented a lot of BSE material from unknowingly being imported • USDA (1989) with first regulations restricting imports of ruminants from BSE countries • Based on mere risk alone?Was this the smartest decision?
More Barriers • FDA: most notable ban in 1997 on most mammalian protein from ruminant feed • Lastly, the U.S. Customs Service which screens goods entering the counrty and the USDA • Why even with all these firewalls was it still possible for BSE infected agents to reach U.S.? • George M. Gray- assessed effectiveness of the regulations • Bans but what about in house problems? • Why not the same extremes as Europe?
Breaks in the Firewall • In theory, regulations should keep BSE out of the country but every system has its faults. • Human error • Rebellion • Do these regulations give us a false sense of security that we would be better without? • USDA surveillance example
Other means of leakage • Chicken litter may be fed to cows which circumvents the proper labeling of animal feed • Dead-on-the- farm animals (now being tested USDA) • International bulk mail • Discrepancies in the info that importers provide • Wording of the regulations themselves may also be problematic • Time it takes to address issues • Feed ban most critical part but also weakest • Because of enforcement • Only real weapon is warning letter • Should FDA be designated more power?
Problems with enforcement • Why the warning letter is not effective? • Red tape
Empowerment and why it works • FDA has no strategy to enforce compliance and prefers to educate and work in cooperation • Strategy seems to work for FDA: • 2001-2002 compliance fallen at most to 7-8% • Many firms voluntarily comply but why? • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CBs5xJpFg-A • Despite gaps in the firewall the risk of BSE appearing in the U.S. is probably low. • Reassuring?
American Madness • Mink industry struck and spread rapidly • Common denominator was a feed discovered by G.R. Hartsough and Dieter Burger • Richard Marsh along with William Hadlow describes mink symptoms and finds out they were fed infected downer cows • No species barrier • Unrecognized BSE-like infection in American cattle and other countries
Richard Marsh • Arguing that prion disease here was different from the BSE that appeared in Brittain. • Recognized implications of an American strain and lobbied for beef industry to end practice • Asked to stand down and persisted • Ban was made right after his death
In Case of Emergency • Cows might exhibit different strains • Richard Marsh inspired new research • Testing of downer cattle • Immunohistochemistry • Still no evidence to support his theory however • Temptations to hide mad cow • Numbers are good but is this because of the effects a scare would have?
Pigs and Sheep • Feed can still go to pigs and chickens both of which make the prion protein naturally • So far it hasn’t been found in chickens or pigs • Michael Hansen however believes the pig-feeding experiment was flawed
Chapter 11: Scourge of the Cervids • What started as an epidemic among deer and elk in Wisconsin spread across the nation • Special hunting periods • Disease spreads more aggressively than scrapie among sheep
Out and About • First farmed elk displayed signs of CWD inn 1996 on a ranch in Canada and spread rapidly to wild populations • Aggressive measures to depopulate • Transport of incubating cervids • Unknown exactly how these animals became infected • Massive killing projects effectiveness difficult to call
Venison and Beyond • No one knows whether CWD can spread to humans • Hard time converting human prion protein • Dosage matters is this why we haven’t seen occurrences? Or is it simply not transmissible • Three young venison eaters • Does CWD pose a threat to domestic livestock
