| Related sites for http://www.mad-cow.org/~tom/dec15_news.html |
| Hemosystem A french company devoted to blood transfusion and safety of blood products through innovative development. | | Immucor,_Inc_ Develops, manufactures, and sells reagents and systems used to detect and identify cell and serum components of human blood prior to blood transfusions. International distriubuter contacts, with headq | | LifeShare Lorain County Blood Bank collects blood from volunteer donors in the communities where it will be used. | | Medica Operates in the field of blood purification treatments for CRRT, providing a complete range of products. | | New_York_Biologics Offers blood products, source materials, clinical trials, and diagnostic materials. | | New_York_Blood_Center Many blood products, transfusion options, and services are provided. | | Northfield_Laboratories,_Inc_ Develops, safe and effective alternatives to transfer blood for use in the treatment of acute blood loss, including polyheme a solution of chemically modified hemoglobin, which loads and unloads oxyge | | Possis_Medical,_Inc_ Develops, manufactures and markets innovative medical products such as disposable catheters which utilize pressurized saline jets to remove blood clots, and synthetic grafts which act as substitutes f | | Quad_5 An OEM company producing sterile donor animal blood, sera and purified antibodies. Product information available. | | Stanford_Medical_School_Blood_Center Description of blood and its components. Information on weight requirements and physical condition of blood donors. | | Synthetic_Blood_International_Inc_ Biomedical product development company. Company and product information is available. | | Active_Ingredients_Group,_Inc_ Profile and database of herbal products for pharmaceutical, health-food and cosmetics industries. Facilities in Xi'an, Chengdu, Beijing, Jiling, Guangxi, Changsha, Xingjiang, China. | | Adventure Producer and distributor of chemicals in India, specializing in botanical products such as psyllium husks, aloe vera, neem and castor oils, and a range of Indian herbs. | | Algatechnologies,_Ltd_ Produces natural astaxanthin and other microalgae-derived products for the nutraceuticals and cosmetics industry. Includes overview of research, product development and profile of company in Israel. | | Alkaloids_Corporation Manufacturers of phytochemicals, herbal extractions, nutraceuticals and suppliers for active pharmaceutical ingredients and intermediates. Includes overview of production and facilities at Calcutta, I | | ArboNova Supplier of bioactive lignans, stilbenes and flavonoids for research applications, extracted and purified by chromatography. Turku, Finland. | | Archimex CRO specializing in the microwave assisted extraction and purification processes of ingredients from natural products for pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, and the food industries, in Vannes, France. | | Atlantis_Bioactives_Corp_ Biopharmaceutical ingredients, such as taxanes, extracted from botanical sources and synthetic production of 10-deacetylbaccatin III, purified within a cGMP compliant facility in Charlottetown, Prince | | BioNaturalle Manufactures and markets of dietary and pharmaeutical ingredients of botanical origin. Details of products and company in Mumbai, India. | | Chemillennium_International_(H_K_)_Ltd_ Supplier of hormones, steroids, medicinal plants, natural extracts and phytochemicals in Kowloon, Hong Kong. | | Cyanotech_Corp_ Develops and commercializes nutritional additives, pharmaceuticals, and related products derived from cyanobacteria and other algae. Product pipeline and investment contacts in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii. (N | | Deanor_Ltd_ Producers and marketing company for phytochemicals, with specialty in health supplements based on soy raw components, Product overview and contacts in Hatzor, Israel. | | Flavex_Naturextrakte_GmbH_ Manufacturer of botanical products for flavors and remedies, using supercritical carbon dioxide extraction. Includes catalog and online purchase for corporate clients, from Rehlingen, Germany. [Flash | | Fytokem_Products_Inc_ Corporation established to develop plant extracts and phytochemicals as functional ingredients for use in the cosmetic, personal care, food, nutraceuticals, therapeutic and pharmaceutical industries, | | Gelymar_Carrageenans Manufacturing carrageenan from fresh seaweed, with integrated up-stream collection and technologies to develop stability and texture for food and cosmetic products. Flash presentation from Santiago, C | | HaiNan_Super_Biotech_Co_,Ltd Comprehensive development enterprise based on natural medical plants cultivation, green food additives and vegetable drug extraction, focusing on extract of leaves, oil, antioxidant of rosemary, in Ha | | Hangzhou_Aowei_Bioengineering_Co_,_Ltd_ Mainly engaged in researching, developing and producing the algal products, such as fluorescence phycocyanin. Includes specifications, company overview and ordering from Hangzhou, China. | | 101_Herbs Processors of herbal extracts, essential oils, herbs and raw materials used in pharmaceutical, health, cosmetics, food and perfumery industries, for export from Delhi, India. | | Herbsea_Economic_Development_Corp_ Manufacturer of food additives, herbal extracts, pharmaceutical raw materials and intermediates in Changsha, China. | | Himilaya_Herb_Stores Cultivators, exporters and importers of seeds, sea weeds, resins. Lists products and profile of company in Saharanpur, India. | | Hubei_Baofeng_Bio-chemical_Co_,_Ltd_ Manufacturer, primarily of amino acids by fermentation and extraction, but includes sales of disposables. Lists quality standards, products and contacts in Wuhan, China. | | Hunan_Kinglong_Bio-resource_Co_,Ltd_ Extractor of green, black, white and oolong tea, botanical and herbal ingredient. Includes product details and profile of company in Changsha, China. | | Héritiers_Brahim_Belkhiria Since 1940, principally producing essential oils extracted from rosemary, myrtle and plants, used for aromatherapy. Company and product overview, with contacts for export from Sousse, Tunisia. | | Ikeda_Tohka_Industries_Lab_ Offers long chain omega-3 poly-unsaturated fatty acids, humic acid plant energizer, and other extracts from Hiroshima, Japan. | | Jiangsu_Spring_Fruit_Biological_Products_Co_,_Ltd_ Manufacturer and exporter of natural vitamin E oil, phytosterol and fatty acid methyl ester in Taixing, China. | | Kancor_Flavours_and_Extracts_Limited Produces natural ingredients, including spice and herb extracts and oils, food colorants, essential oils and raw botanicals. Located in Kerala, India. | | Lessonia Processes marine products for thalassotherapy, cosmetic, dietetic, fertilizers, feeds and pet-foods. Its main process consists on micronising seaweed and plants in Brittany, France. | | Linnaeus_Plant_Sciences,_Inc_ Biotechnology company developing castor oil seed crops, genetically engineered to produce petroleum substitutes. Includes scientific overview, and partnership opportunities for ricinoleic acid and mot | | Maharashtra_Phytochemicals Manufacturer using cGMP guidelines of botanical extractions from Neem and Tulsi trees, orange peel and herbal mixtures. Profile of company in Thane, India. | | Nashai_Biotech,_LLC_ Research, development of novel ingredients to be converted into dietary supplements, over-the-counter medicines and pharmaceutical ingredients, such as theaflavins. Manufacturer based in Shanghai, Chi |
|
CJD Blood Productsfunction ritecol(){mycolor="#FFFDD3";document.bgColor=mycolor;} Mad Cow Home ... Best Links ... Search this site  CJD blood products given to 3,000 patientsDowning Street rib joint (151 lbs) ends in dustbinRetaliation: Britain puts health ban on EU beef Doctors planning CJD screening test CJD research chief denies screening plan report Screening already funded and startedMaff interference with scientific investigations Irish blood product withdrawn after 250 injectedIreland starts to track down patients in new mad cow scare Portugal to screen blood to reduce CJD risk U.S. limits livestock, product imports in BSE ruleE.U. Commission 'Seriously Regrets' U.S. Beef Import MoveUSDA: Live ruminant imports from Europe restrictedWhat we have been fedCJD blood products given to 3,000 patientsDecember 16 1997 BY AUDREY MAGEE AND IAN MURRAY UP TO 3,000 people treated in 100 British hospitals may have been injected with blood products taken from a donor who died six weeks ago from new variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, the human form of BSE. None of them is to be told because the Health Department believes the risk of them developing the disease is so slight that there is no reason to cause alarm. Although hospitals have been advised to return the product, used in X-ray screenings to detect lung disease, so far only 15 per cent has been recovered. There is no order obliging hospitals to return it and some clinicians may go on using up stocks on the basis that patients are far more likely to die from infections or cancer that can be diagnosed with the product than from CJD. Another 268 patients in Ireland are known to have been given injections from the same batch of the product. The Irish Health Ministry has decided to notify all the patients concerned. Even though the identity of all those who have been given an injection of the product is known, it was decided not to tell them because there is no evidence that the illness can be transmitted through the blood or the serum derived from it to make the product and the risk of developing CJD is regarded as negligible. "You are putting an enormous burden on people by telling them they have a remote risk of contracting the disease," the department said last night. "The ethics committee which advises us on these matters decided it was just not appropriate to tell them." The blood from the donor was sent 18 months ago to the National Blood Authority laboratory, where it was split into a number of different products. The donor's plasma was mixed with some taken from 49,000 other donors to make 8,174 bottles of albumin, the water-soluble protein found in blood. Many were exported but 210 of the 50ml bottles remained in Britain and were sent to eight different hospitals and companies. Some of the bottles were used intravenously to rehydrate burn victims. One bottle was sent to Nycomed Amersham which used it to produce 14,000 vials of Amerscan Pulmonate II, an agent which is injected into the lungs so that infections and cancer show up under X-ray. The company sent almost 3,700 vials to 100 British hospitals. At the end of October the European Committee on Proprietary Medicinal Products called for the withdrawal of blood products derived from donors who were confirmed CJD cases. On November 1 the Blood Transfusion Service was notified that one of its donors had died from the disease so the Amersham company was told. In turn the company got in touch with the Medicines Control Agency which informed the Health Department and it recommended withdrawal of the product on November 17. Despite regular alarms, there has never been any convincing evidence that blood or blood products can transmit CJD (Nigel Hawkes writes). Unless new variant CJD, the human form of "mad cow" disease, is more easily transmitted than classic CJD via blood or blood products, there does not appear to be any cause for concern. [This is no medical basis for this statement -- webmaster] For classic CJD the risk seems negligible. About 50 people a year die of the disease, so it is certain that every year some of them give blood after they have the infection but before its symptoms appear. Studies show that classic CJD can be passed on in human tissue, but not - so far as we know - in blood. [This is not an accurate summary of current scientific knowledge -- webmaster] Downing Street rib joint ends in binDecember 16 1997 BY ADRIAN LEE Farewell Dinner for the Roast Beef of Olde England A 15lb rib of beef was delivered to 10 Downing Street yesterday - and was destined to go straight into the dustbin. The joint was taken to the doors of No 10 in protest at the ban on the sale of beef on the bone, which took effect at midnight. The National Cattle Association said it wanted the Prime Minister to experience the "excellence of the product" first-hand, and presented it to a policeman. It was taken inside, but a Downing Street spokesman said that it would be thrown away, in line with government advice that it was not safe to eat. "Obviously this is part of a publicity campaign by farmers and they are perfectly entitled to make their case. But clearly the beef on the bone cannot be eaten and it will be disposed of." The demonstration outside No 10 was one of a series of protests and rallies opposing the ban, while customers were rushing to buy T-bone steaks, ribs and oxtails before the midnight deadline. And last night pubs and restaurants held defiant farewell celebrations to traditional favourites. At Butchers' Hall, near Smithfield meat market, fifty guests of the City caterers Chester Boyd feasted on oxtail soup and baron of beef washed down with bullshot, a drink made from vodka and beef consomm». At Westminster, butchers in working aprons paraded with a forerib of beef outside the House of Commons and presented the Conservative MP Bill Cash with a petition signed by 106,000 members of the public requesting that they be allowed to make up their own minds. "To get so many signatures in just four days shows that the public is overwhelmingly against this ban, which was a kneejerk, panic measure," Mr Cash said. "The British public do not want a nanny state telling them what to eat." Trading standards officers have also written to the Government complaining that the new law is confusing and could be impossible to enforce, and a black market is expected to flourish. Gordon Gresty, head of trading standards in North Yorkshire, expected butchers with regular customers in small communities to flout the ban. "It is going to be extremely difficult to police. I am certain we will see under-the-counter deals which will be virtually impossible to stop." Bob Dove, a butchers in Battersea, southwest London, also believed that a black market might thrive, but said: "I suspect the Government will soon stop us buying beef on the bone if they suspect butchers of breaking the law." That would play into the hands of the supermarkets and send scores of independent butchers under. Both Mr Dove and Danny Hepburn, a butcher from Mountnessing, Essex, reported that customers had been stockpiling beef. Mr Hepburn said: "They are disgusted by this. One man came in at the weekend and filled his boot with foreribs and oxtail. I have sold more oxtails in the last week than I would normally sell in a year." By last night, however, most restaurants had reluctantly removed beef on the bone from their menus. Michel Bourdin, head chef at the Connaught Grill in London, said he felt like committing suicide, but added: "I will adapt, what can I do? I don't want to go to jail for trying to save British gastronomy." Farewell Dinner for the Roast Beef of Olde England Oxtail Soup with Chestnuts Roast Baron of Beef on the bone Horseradish Relish Pommes BoulangÀre (with Beef Stock) M»lange of Beans Treacle Pudding with Traditional Custard Croque Cunningham Rich Roast Arabica Coffee and Sweetmeats BRITAIN Retaliation: Britain puts health ban on EU beefDecember 16 1997 Times BY CHARLES BREMNER, PHILIP WEBSTER AND MICHAEL HORNSBY BRITAIN plunged into a new confrontation with Europe over beef yesterday when Jack Cunningham imposed a unilateral ban on imports that do not meet the safety standards required of British meat. The Agriculture Minister announced his decision after the EU voted 14-1 to delay the introduction of such checks throughout the Community until next April. In language reminiscent of John Major's "beef war" in the summer of 1996, he attacked "fraudulent" arguments being put forward in Brussels and claimed that his EU counterparts had "prevaricated and obfuscated" to avoid new anti-BSE health controls. There were legal doubts over Britain's move last night, and suspicions in Brussels that Dr Cunningham was seeking to distract attention from his ban on the sale of beef on the bone, which came into force at midnight in spite of protests and demonstrations by farmers, butchers and consumers. No other European state has imposed such a restriction. It was clear also that the impact of his gesture would be limited. Meat from Ireland, the main importer to Britain with 54,000 tonnes last year, France and The Netherlands already conforms to the planned code on the removal of the brain, spinal cord and eyes from cattle, sheep and goats. However, there was an obvious risk of the "war" being resumed, with the possibility of action against Britain in the European Court. The strongest objection to the new British rules could be expected from Germany, which claims that it has no BSE and so its producers should not be burdened with costly processing requirements. The European Commission sought the delay in the slaughterhouse code - agreed last July and due to come into effect on January 1 - after opposition from Germany and half a dozen other EU states, as well as the United States, whose pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries are affected. Last Saturday the Americans extended their own ban of European beef imports in what Brussels saw as retaliation for the proposed meat hygiene rules. A unilateral ban on beef imports would certainly breach EU rules covering the single market, as Dr Cunningham accepted. "I cannot ban imports of beef - though I think farmers would like me to - that would be a matter that would have me straight into the European Court," he said. "But I can insist that it can only come in if it has had the specified risk materials removed and been treated the same as British beef." That approach would break no rules, he said, because he was demanding only that meat sold in the shops should be subject to uniform safety checks. The Commission said it would form an opinion after considering the proposed ban in detail. Dr Cunningham added: "I believe that people who have been opposed to the original decision have just been prevaricating and obfuscating and delaying. I am going to implement it unilaterally on behalf of the United Kingdom to make sure beef coming in is as safe as the beef we have at home. I can't believe that it is good for the reputation of the Commission or the EU that a decision properly taken in July has got to the point where it has failed to be implemented six months later." He rejected the claims of eight nations that they did not need such measures because they had not suffered from BSE. If the EU were to operate a single market in beef, the same rules and regulations had to apply throughout. "There is a single market in beef, it is traded around that single market and there is no guarantee that beef coming from any country in the EU is beef that has been raised in that country. You can purchase beef in one country where BSE exists and wholesale it from another country where BSE doesn't exist. So it is a completely fraudulent argument to suggest that somehow that provides a safeguard. It doesn't provide any safeguard at all." Last year Britain imported 150,000 tonnes of beef worth £363 million from all sources, of which 93,100 tonnes came from the rest of the European Union, according to the Meat and Livestock Commission. The Ministry of Agriculture said last night that all non-EU suppliers, with the exception of New Zealand and Australia, would have to comply with the new regulations if their meat was to be marketable in Britain. Australia and New Zealand are considered to pose no threat from either BSE or scrapie, the related sheep disease. An aid package for hill farmers affected by the BSE crisis is expected to be announced later this week. Doctors planning CJD screening testSun, Dec 14, 1997 PA News By Chris Barry Doctors investigating the spread of CJD, the human form of mad cowdisease, are planning to introduce a nationwide screening programme, it wasreported today. Scientists at the CJD Surveillance Unit at the Western Infirmary,Edinburgh, want to test tonsils extracted from patients and brains frompeople killed in road accidents, The Sunday Telegraph claims. The newspaper says the head of the unit, Dr Robert Will, suggested themove at a meeting of directors of the UK's haemophilia centres in which newvariant CJD was discussed. Details of the programme are expected to be disclosed in the medicaljournal Lancet in the next few weeks. Under the plan scientists the brain, lymph system and blood of roadaccident victims over the age of 16 would be tested for the prion proteinassociated with the new variant of the incurable disease. It is believed it would take between six months to a year of tests fordoctors to gain an insight into how widespread the disease has become. In the case of tonsils, tests would almost certainly be anonymous, inthe same way that pregnant women are tested to determine the prevalence ofHIV in the population. At present patients attending sexually transmitted disease clinics arealso asked if they will give blood samples to test for the HIV virus, andare then given the choice of being told the results. Scientists working at St Mary's medical school in London have alreadybegan to develop the tonsil test, and have apparently found evidence of theprion protein on tonsular tissue. CJD research chief denies screening plan reportSun, 14 Dec 1997 PA News By Chris Barry, PA News The head of the scientific team researching CJD, the human form of madcow disease, today denied there are plans to introduce a nationwidescreening programme to discover how far the incurable condition has spread. Dr Robert Will, the director of the Edinburgh-based CJD SurveillanceUnit, said newspaper reports that he wanted to set up a national programmeto screen for new variant CJD were "misleading and inaccurate". The Sunday Telegraph reported that brain tissue of road accident victimsand extracted tonsils would be tested for the protein, prion, which isassociated with the disease. But Dr Will, who leads the 10-strong research team at Edinburgh'sWestern General hospital, said from his home in the city: "The reports areincorrect, there are no plans for a national programme as far as I amaware." He said he had been invited to attend a meeting of the directors of theUK's haemophilia centres, in which the "theoretical possibility" of testingwas raised. "One small component of the meeting involved discussing CJD. Someoneraised the possibility of studying the number of people incubating thedisease, but this was only on a theoretical basis. "A national programme was not mentioned. There are no plans for this asfar as I am aware, and I have not agreed to write a letter to the Lancetadvising doctors and coroners." "I have just discussed the matter with the chairman of the meeting andhe has confirmed my interpretation of the events," Dr Will added. Dr Will said the State-funded unit was investigating the possibilitythat brain tissue and tonsils could be tested for CJD, but said there wereno firm plans to do this. The Surveillance Unit currently performs post mortem examinations on thebodies of people who may have died from the new variant of the wastingdisease. At present the only way of identifying the condition is to study braintissue after death. The Sunday Telegraph also reported that scientists working at St Mary'smedical school in London have already began to develop the tonsil test, andhave apparently found evidence of prions -- the form of protein thought tobe responsible for the development of CJD -- on tonsular tissue. Sunday Telegraph 14.12.97 Dealler summary "Health chiefs laungh mass CJD screening:his is a programme of investigatinganonymously the brains of any people that have died of specific causes in the UK. e.g. road accidents. The aim of thiswould be to look for prevalence data for nvCJD in the population. It is to be announced in the Lancet in a letter. RobWill, who is supposed to be doing it says that the experiments would involve the histopathological methodsassociated with tonsil biopsy. The Department of Health, from whom the funding is expected to be coming, hasdenied being asked for the money so far. The tonsil test is actually a very difficult thing to do simply because thehistopathological changes that may be seen are almost the last changes before clinical symptoms appear. Westernblotting or the Narang test using electron microscopy may be a better method to be using. Obviously the mostefficient would be the inoculation of transgenic mice but this was turned down by the Medical Research Councilin 1996" - SD Blood product withdrawn after CJD scareSun, 14 Dec 1997 PA News By Chris Parkin, PA News The manufacturers of a blood product at the centre of a CJD scaretonight stressed there was no evidence of contamination. The product Amerscan Pulmonate Two had been used in treatment for nearly270 patients in nine Irish hospitals. It was withdrawn when it was discovered that its manufacture hadinvolved plasma from a donor who subsequently died from new variant CJD,the human equivalent of BSE. The product is an agent used to diagnose lung disease, and 320 dosesfrom three batches were sent to Ireland, with 268 used before the recall. Alan Huw Smith, corporate director for the company involved, NycomedAmersham, said nothing had happened to indicate evidence of contaminationin their product. He said the withdrawal was made as a precautionary measure and notbecause of any clinical event to show contamination. The Irish Department of Health confirmed the recall had been directed asa precaution, following confirmation that a blood donor, whose plasma hadbeen used, subsequently developed CJD. A statement said: "While there is no evidence that CJD has beentransmitted by blood products, this particular donor had the new variant ofthe condition and against this background, recall of the product was seenas a sensible precaution." The department said arrangements were being made for the recipients ofthe product to be informed "in the most sensitive, prudent and sympatheticway possible." It was understood tonight that the donor involved gave the blood in1993, and later developed new variant CJD. A spokesman for the Department of Health in London said the MedicinesControl Agency had advised the manufacturers of Amerscan Pulmonate Two towithdraw the relevant batch of its product last month. He added: "This purely precautionary measure was in line with the adviceof the European expert body, the Committee on Proprietary MedicineProducts." The department tonight also pointed to a statement about CJD issued bythe Chief Medical Officer, Sir Kenneth Calman, on October 6. It said that the safety of blood and blood products had been consideredon several occasions by a number of international bodies, and all hadconcluded "that any risk of contracting CJD through blood or bloodderivatives is negligible".Hundreds of people received blood contaminated with mad cow diseaseDecember 14, 1997 Agence France-Presse DUBLIN - Nearly 270 people in Ireland have receivedblood from a British donor who was infected with the Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease virus, the human form of "mad cow"disease, the Irish health ministry said Sunday. Blood products from the donor were transfused into patients in nine Irish hospitals before it was learnt that the donorhad died of Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (CJD). The products were immediately withdrawn from the market onNovember 26 and destroyed, the ministry said.A department of health spokesman said that there was no evidence CJD could be transmitted by blood or blood productsbut the product was withdrawn as "a precautionary measure.""This is an injectable agent used by radiology departments in lung scans. The department understands thatapproximately 270 people were involved," the spokesman added.The product -- three batches of Amerscam Pulmonate II agent, which is used to diagnose lung disease -- waswithdrawn following confirmation that "one of the blood donors in the U.K. whose plasma was used to manufacture theproduct subsequently developed new variant CJD.""This product is manufactured in the U.K. and is purchased by hospitals (in Ireland) through an Irish distributor ofthe U.K. company."In its statement, the department of health said it would make arrangements for those who had been given the blood tobe informed "in the most sensitive, prudent and sympathetic way possible."Earlier this month, a British daily reported that Britain might have exported the blood of a CJD victim to 46countries.The new form of CJD, the human form of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE, or mad cow disease), has killed 22people in Britain. Ireland starts to track down patients in new mad cow scareDecember 15, 1997 Agence France-Presse DUBLIN - Ireland's health authorities Monday begantracking down 270 people who received transfusions using blood products from a British company sold in more than50 countries and which could have been contaminated by Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease, the human form of "mad cow"disease.The Irish government tried to play down the latest scare, saying there was only a very small risk for the patientsinvolved and promised to inform them in a "prudent and sensitive" way.It announced Sunday that 268 people were treated with the suspect product, Amerscam Pulmonate, an injectible agentused in lung scans in radiology departments.Opposition parties accused the government of waiting too long before alerting the public when it knew of the risksfrom Nov. 26. The maker of the product, Britain's Nycomed Amersham, said Monday that the batch of suspect products -- made withthe blood of a British donor who later died of CJD -- could have been sold in 52 countries altogether, where thecompany has clients.The laboratory, outside London, says it sold more than 10,000 product units between June and October this year, andhas issued a warning to all its clients.Alan Huw-Smith, the company's corporate affairs director who had originally estimated that the suspectconsignments had been sold in 40 countries, said checks were being made with the countries concerned Monday.A provisional list included 13 countries -- Belgium, Britain, Colombia, Denmark Finland, Germany, Ireland, Indonesia,Malaysia, Philippines, South Korea, Spain and Sweden.Of the 10,000 units sold only "15 percent have been sent back so far," he said. That did not mean that the remaining85 percent had been used. The company, alerted by British health authorities in November, said the withdrawal was a precautionary measure.There was no proof that CJD could be transmitted through blood.Huw-Smith said: "There is no evidence that the blood was contaminated, no evidence that the serum was contaminatedand no evidence that this particular batch of our product was contaminated."He said it was understood the blood donation was made in the early 1990s. "There is a considerable delay between thetime when this donation was given and the time when the donor was diagnosed as having contracted CJD."There is no proof at present of a possible transmission between humans through blood transfusions, but the risk isnot excluded by scentists.The British government recently envisaged treating systematically all blood donations and blood products to eliminateany possible infections.An inquiry is currently under way in Britain after eye tissue from a woman who died of CJD were used for cornealgrafts on three patients.Portugal to screen blood to reduce CJD riskReuters Fri, Dec 12, 1997 LISBON - Portugal will start screening blood nextyear to reduce the risk of infection from the human equivalent of mad cowdisease, a senior health official said on Friday. Portugal will be the first country in Europe to take steps to screenblood for an agent that causes Creutzfeldt Jakob disease (CJD), said Josede Almeida Goncalves, president of the state-run Portuguese BloodInstitute. "From April 1, 1998 blood banks will use filters to extract whitecells in order to eliminate any risk of infection with CJD," AlmeidaGoncalves told Reuters. "No one knows if a CJD epidemic is going to happen.Our action is purely precautionary," he added. Doctors have said that Britain's national blood supply could beinfected with a new strain of CJD. Britain is also considering removingwhite blood cells from donated blood and plasma. Eight cases of CJD have been reported in Portugal so far this year, upfrom five in 1996 and two in 1995. Better reporting may explain the sharp increase in the number ofcases, Almeida Goncalves said. U.S. limits livestock, product imports in BSE ruleFri, Dec 12, 1997 Reuters World ReportDate: Fri, 12 Dec 1997 19:30:58 -0500WASHINGTON - The United States will restrict theimport of cattle, sheep and some livestock products from 21 Europeannations until there is proof of no "mad cow" risk from them, theAgriculture Department said on Friday. Similar restrictions are already in place for ruminant animals andsome livestock products, such as fresh meat and meat and bone meal fromBritain, France, Ireland, Oman, Portugal, Switzerland, the Netherlands,Belguim and Luxembourg. "Mad cow" disease or bovine spongiformencephalopathy has been detected in those nations. The department said the restrictions would be lifted for countries thatemploy sufficiently strong surveillance systems. "We made this decision toprotect human and animal health, to protect the security of our exportmarkets, and to protect the safety and integrity of our food supply,"Assistant Agriculture Secretary Mike Dunn said in a statement. Action followed discovery in Belgium and Luxembourg of infected cattleand research identifying BSE infectivity in bone marrow and othermaterials. In addition, the United States has disputed a European Union plan toban imports of some livestock products including tallow and gelatin.Washington has estimated the EU rule could disrupt $4.5 billion in cosmeticand pharmaceutical trade. The United States says, with no U.S. history ofBSE, its products are safe. The Agriculture Department said it stopped issuing import permits foranimals and the specified products from Albania, Austria, Bosnia, Bulgaria,Croatia, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Yugoslavia, Finland, Germany, Greece,Hungary, Italy, Macedonia, Norway, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia,Spain and Sweden. U.S. bans imports of European meat December 13, 1997 The Washington Post/AP/ Reuter The United States Friday banned imports of all cattle and sheep fromEurope until the risk of spreading mad cow disease in this country isfully examined.Michael V. Dunn, assistant agriculture secretary for marketing andregulatory programs, was quoted as saying, "We made this decision toprotect human and animal health, to protect the security of our exportmarkets, and to protect the safety and integrity of our food supply."The stories add that previously, USDA had restricted imports of cattle,sheep and many products such as fresh meat and bone meal, from nineEuropean countries where the disease was known to exist.The action announced late Friday expands that ban to most other Europeancountries.Dunn was also cited as saying that the decision to expand the importrestrictions came after two animals diagnosed with mad cow disease inBelgium and Luxembourg went intothe animal food processing system, adding, "This import policy isscience-based and consistent" with international guidelines.The stories add that USDA will lift the import restrictions for anycountry that shows it has a mad cow surveillance program that conformstointernational standards and contains adequate controls for import.A USDA spokesman was cited as telling Reuters that the new restrictionswere not related to the US-European Union dispute over tallow, cattlebrains and related livestock products. Health chiefs launch mass screening for CJDTelegraph Sunday 14 December 1997 By Victoria Macdonald, Health Correspondent A nationwide screening programme for hospital patients and accident victims is to be carried out to assess howfar the human form of mad cow disease has spread. The CJD Surveillance Unit is to test the tonsils of patients who have them removed, and also the brains of people whodie in road accidents. It has also emerged that doctors in Oxford have started taking samples from the brainsof bodies sent for autopsy , to look for new variant CJD.The Telegraph has learned that Dr Robert Will, director of the CJD unit, presented his plans to the directors of theUK haemophilia centres during a closed meeting on nvCJD. Dr Will was not available for comment, but a doctor whoattended the meeting confirmed that Dr Will laid out a programme for testing living and deceased patients for thedisease, which has been linked to BSE.The programme is expected to be disclosed in a letter to the Lancet within the next few weeks from Dr Will andaddressed to doctors and coroners. Under the plan, brain tissue, lymph system and blood of people killed inroad accidents would be tested for the prion protein associated with nvCJD.Only the brains of people aged over 16 would be used. Permission would have to be obtained from relatives, as is alsothe case in the Oxford research. There were 3,600 road deaths in Britain last year and if even half the relativesagreed to a biopsy, doctors would gain a reasonable marker on how many people are infected.Dr Will told the meeting that with this study, and that using tonsular tissue, it would take six to 12 months todetermine the extent of the disease's spread. Testing would almost certainly be anonymous, with any patient carryingthe disease unlikely to be told they are infected .... The British Medical Association and the Royal Collegeof Pathologists both expressed concerns at the ethical implications of the testing. The BMA said that as long as the tonsil testing was performed anonymously it would be acceptable, but a spokesmansaid the association had reservations about the testing of brains of accident victims.A Department of Health spokesman said: "As far as I know, no proposal has been sent to the department ."However, at Oxford, research using brain tissue from autopsy cases is being paid for by the Department ofHealth. The work is led by Professor Margaret Esiri, a neuropathologist at the Radcliffe Infirmary."If there is anything going on in the general population, we would expect to pick it up, but so far there have been nonvCJD cases," she said. "It is only a tiny sample and we do not know how useful the testing will be."There had been a mixed response from relatives, "just as there is in organ donation cases".E.U. Commission 'Seriously Regrets' U.S. Beef Import Move15 Dec 97 Dow Jones By Jonathan Stearns BRUSSELS --The European Union Commission said Monday it 'seriouslyregrets' a U.S. decision to restrict imports of E.U. beef and to ban imports ofall E.U. cattle, sheep and goats. Spokesman Gerard Kiely suggested the move is meant to pressure the Commission,the E.U. executive, into exempting the U.S. from a proposed ban on productsdeemed at risk of harboring 'mad cow' disease and into formally endorsing atransatlantic accord on animal products trade. 'We seriously regret this decision because it's not well founded and we had noprior warning of it,' Kiely said at a meeting with journalists. Saying the U.S. import restrictions won't have a 'major' economic consequencefor the 15-member E.U., Kiely questioned whether the U.S. had an 'ulteriormotive' for imposing them. He noted strong U.S. opposition to a planned E.U. ban on pharmaceuticals,cosmetics and other products considered at risk of harboring bovine spongiformencephalopathy. The U.S. has said the ban, due to take effect March 31, 1998,would disrupt billions of dollars a year in U.S. pharmaceuticals exports. Kiely also cited U.S. criticism of the Commission's refusal in November torecommend that E.U. countries ratify a 'veterinary equivalency' agreement withthe U.S. until the U.S. Agriculture Department offers more concessions onimports of animal products from E.U. countries where a disease has broken out. Kiely said the Commission will seek more information from the U.S. aboutthe reasons for the import restrictions. Meanwhile, E.U. agriculture ministers are likely to discuss the issue at atwo-day meeting in Brussels beginning later Monday, Kiely said. The U.S. decided Friday to restrict imports of beef and to ban imports of liveruminants from across the E.U. and other European countries because of concernsabout BSE. It cited recent evidence that animals infected with BSE in Belgiumand Luxembourg had been used for animal feed in Europe as justifications for themove. Until Friday, the U.S. had been restricting imports of beef from just sevenE.U. countries - the U.K., France, Ireland, Portugal, the Netherlands, Belgiumand Luxembourg. The restrictions, based on confirmed BSE cases in thosecountries, amounted to a ban on bone-in beef but not boneless beef. In 1996, E.U. exports of beef and live cattle, sheep and goats to the U.S.were worth a total of about $3 million. Of that, E.U. beef exports amounted toabout $2.6 million. Sunday Telegraph 14.12.97 Dealler Americans Ban European beef and lamb announced by Michael Dunn,assistant agriculture secretary formarketing and regulatory programmes. The statement came after agricultureattaches from European embasies in the American capital were summoned to the USDA. A second cow with BSEhas appeared in Belgium. 381,000 metric tonnes of of beef and vealwere exported to the USA every year from Europe. UK will be little affected. Britain welcomes U.S.'s Europe-wide beef curbsDecember 13, 1997 ReuterLONDON -- British Agriculture Minister Jack Cunningham was quoted assaying in a statement Sat. that, "The U.K. appears likely to be littleaffected by this U.S. action. We do not export beef to the U.S. and themarket for sheep meat is small. I am interested that the U.S. isconcernedabout BSE inother(European Union) member states. The U.K. has similar concerns and ispressing for implementation from January 5 of EU-wide controls on theremoval of some Specified Risk Material from beef and some sheep."What have we been fedChannel 4 11.12.97 Dispatches ''What have we been fed was the main idea of the program; showing that we have not just been fed bovine material from infected cattle but we have also been given deliberately misleadinginformation by Government offices. It puts over how Iain McGill, a researcher at the centre of the BSE researchwas basically censored and prevented from given out scientific information to external groups. It shows how MAFFwere determined that his findings and those of other researchers be stopped by higher authority. It shows thatresearch was prevented in foreign groups (and UK groups - Ed) by the refusal to give quantities of bovine braintissue (or any other tissue from infected animals) to them by MAFF. The programs puts over the idea that specificworking parties aimed at advising the UK Government were not adequate to decide on the advice that was given andthat they were mislead by MAFF staff working with them. It made it clear that before MAFF decisions were madethey had to be agreed with the beef industry (i.e. is put over that public health was being put behind the industrywhen decisions were being made). McGill had quit because he could not take part in such misinformation but hadbeen afraid to give the details out to external groups. He said that research he had asked to do (to look for BSEinfection in sheep) was not funded when it was needed in 1992 and is only now being started 5 years later. Theprogram was completely damning of the MAFF as a protector of human health from food, and showed how sciencefindings were manipulated to give the impression to the consumer that 'everything was fine' (e.g. the marmosetmonkey that died of BSE was looked on as an important result before it died and was then almost ignored). Variouspeople (Collinge included) stated that they felt an inquiry was needed and that this should be a judicial one in orderto bring the information forward. (My own opinion of the program was that far more could have been shown of howinformation was hidden from scientists, press, probably the House of Commons and certainly from foreign groupsbut probably there was not time to show it. It showed that the scientists themselves did their best but it was thehigher officials that were determined that BSE would not affect the beef industry no matter what the findings were.An inquiry that can suboena witnesses is essential but this is not completely clear in the program - Steve Dealler,Editor) USDA: Live ruminant imports from Europe restrictedOTC (COMTEX NewswireMon, Dec 15, 1997Washington --USDA has announced in a formal statement restrictions onthe importation of live ruminants and certain ruminant products from Europeuntil the risk of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) can be furtherassessed. As reported by FWN last Friday, USDA on Dec. 11 stopped issuing importpermits for all live ruminants, including cattle and sheep, and ruminantproducts such as meat and bone meal and fresh meat, from Europe until USDAscientists can assess the risk of BSE and evaluate surveillance activities inindividual countries. USDA has requested information from affected countries and will evaluate thatinformation upon receipt, the statement said. USDA will lift import restrictionswith respect to any country found to have a surveillance program that conformsto international standards and adequate import controls. "We made this decision to protect human and animal health, to protect thesecurity of our export markets and to protect the safety and the integrity ofour food supply," said Michael Dunn, USDA's Animal and Plant Health InspectionService assistant secretary for marketing and regulatory programs. Such action was initiated at this time in part because of several recentdevelopments related to BSE in Europe. A bovine animal native to Belgium wasdiagnosed as BSE positive and subsequently processed into the animal food chain,as was another bovine animal native to Luxembourg. Also, on Dec. 3, scientistsin the United Kingdom identified BSE infectivity in dorsal root ganglion,trigeminal ganglion, and bone marrow, according to the statement. Until now, USDA regulations restricted the importation of ruminants andruminant products only from countries that have reported BSE diagnosed innative- born cattle. Countries known to be affected with BSE include the UnitedKingdom, France, the Republic of Ireland, Oman, Portugal, Switzerland, theNetherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg. Products presenting minimal risk of BSE transmission--including semen, milkand milk products, hides and skins, tallow and tallow derivatives, and certainblood products used in microbiologic media--are excluded from the new importrestrictions. Products such as gelatin and collagen for human use are addressed through authority of the Food and Drug Administration. "This import policy is science based and consistent with internationalguidelines set forth by the Office of International Epizootics," Dunn added. The new restrictions apply to the following countries: Albania, Austria,Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, Finland, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, FormerYugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Norway, Poland, Romania, Slovak Republic,Slovenia, Spain and Sweden. Mad Cow Home ... Best Links ... Search this site |
|
