Prague BSE Confirmed in a Cow in the Region of Liberec in the Czech Republic

Voluntary - Public Clearance Office: Office of Scientific and Technical Affairs (OSTA) Date: 4/6/2009 GAIN Report Number: EZ9003

Czech Republic Post:

Prague BSE Confirmed in a Cow in the Region of Liberec in the Czech Republic

Report Categories: Livestock and Products Pest/Disease Occurrences Approved By: Eric Wenberg Prepared By: Jana Mikulasova Report Highlights: The 29th case of BSE in the Czech Republic was confirmed on March 25, 2009 by the State Veterinary Administration. The cow was on farm in Roprachtice in the Region of Liberec in a northern part of the country. General Information: On March 25, 2009, the State Veterinary Administration (SVA) confirmed the 29th case of BSE in a cow in the Czech Republic since 2001. The cow located on a farm in Roprachtice, approximately 100 km to the northeast of Prague, nearing Polish border, was 66 months old. It has been the youngest infected animal that was born after the ban of meat-bone meal use in feeds. According to the SVA, the cow may have gotten contaminated feed, but it's difficult to locate the source of the problem since the contaminated feed would have been consumed five years ago. There were 82 cows identified in the same herd that will be killed within 90 days. The affected farmers will receive a compensation for these animals. The Czech Republic has been fully in line with the EC Regulation no. 999/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22 May 2001, laying down rules for the prevention, control and eradication of transmissible spongiform encephalopathies and it has been recognized as having a "controlled BSE risk" in accordance with Chapter 11.6. of the Terrestrial Code of The World Organization for Animal Health (OIE). The last case of BSE in the Czech Republic occurred in December 2007. Author Defined:


http://gain.fas.usda.gov/Recent%20GAIN%20Publications/BSE%20Confirmed%20in%20a%20Cow%20in%20the%20Region%20of%20Liberec%20in%20the%20Czech%20Republic_Prague_Czech%20Republic_4-17-2009.pdf



From: Terry S. Singeltary Sr. [flounder9@verizon.net]
Sent: Monday, July 24, 2006 1:09 PM
To: FSIS RegulationsComments
Subject: [Docket No. FSIS-2006-0011] FSIS Harvard Risk Assessment of Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE)


Greetings,

i would like to kindly submit to this docket and warn of the potential for biological 'suitcase bombs' from civilian air-traffic populations from known BSE/FMD and other exotic animal disease pathogens coming into the USA.

please be warned;

snip...

Greetings list members,

i just cannot accept this;

23 kg of meat in a suitcase (suitcase bomb...TSS)

The data do not provide a species of origin code for these

products, therefore they may not contain any ruminant product.

what kind of statement is this?

how stupid do they think we are?

it could also very well mean that _all_ of it was ruminant based products !

snip...

Greetings FDA and public,

if you go to the below site, and search all BSE known countries and check out their air traffic illegal meat they have confiscated, and check out the low number checked, compared to actual passenger traffic, would not take too much for some nut to bring in FMD/TSEs into the USA as a 'suitcase bomb'.

[[Under APHIS-PPQ's agricultural quarantine inspection monitoring, 284 air passengers from Israel were sampled for items of agricultural interest in fiscal year 2001. Seven of these passengers, or 2 percent, carried a total of 11 kg of meat items that could potentially harbor the pathogen that causes BSE. None of these passengers from whom meat items were confiscated reported plans to visit or work on a ranch or farm during their visit to the U.S.]]

if they were to have questioned the terrorist that bombed the Twin Towers with jets, if they were to have questioned them at flight school in the USA, i am sure that they would have said they did not intend to visit the Twin Towers as a flying bomb either. what am i thinking, they probably did ask this? stupid me.

snip...

*** Czech Republic 74 472

Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy, Czech Republic

Impact Worksheet, June 14, 2001

Summary: The Czech Republic confirmed on June 8, 2001 the first case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) in a native-born cow. This is the first confirmed case of BSE in a native-born animal outside of western Europe. The Czech Republic has less than 1% of world cattle stocks, and less than 0.1% of sheep and goats. The country’s exports of beef and veal accounted for less than 0.1% of world beef and veal exports in 1999 and are negligible in terms of world trade in these products. In 2001, the Czech Republic exported beef and live cattle to Austria, Germany, France, Greece, Bulgaria, Italy, Portugal, Slovakia, and Russia.

In December 1997, the USDA, APHIS enacted regulations which prohibited the importation of live ruminants and ruminant meat from Europe, including the Czech Republic. These import restrictions also applied to bone meal, blood meal, meat meal, offal, fat, glands, and serum from ruminants. In December 2000, APHIS expanded its import restrictions regarding BSE by prohibiting all imports of rendered animal protein products, regardless of species, from Europe.

How extensive is the situation in the affected country and what was the country’s disease status prior to the outbreak? On June 8, 2001 the Czech Republic reported to the OIE the first case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) in a native-born cow. The initial two positive tests in the Czech Republic were subsequently confirmed on June 14, 2001 by the German BSE Reference Center. This confirmation of BSE is the first confirmed occurrence of BSE in a native-born

Page 33 of 98 8/3/2006

animal outside of western Europe.

The six year old cow with clinical signs of BSE came from a breeding herd of 138 cows owned by a cooperative farm. No other animals on the farm showed clinical signs of BSE. As a result of the current case, all susceptible animals in the herd will be destroyed and tested. In addition, the Czech government will extend BSE testing to all slaughtered bovine animals older than 30 months. Before this case, the Czech government had randomly tested around 11 thousand slaughtered bovines this year, all with negative results.

The source of the infectious agent is not yet known. The Czech government banned feeding all meat-and-bone meal to cattle in 1991. However, the Czech government has initiated an investigation to determine if the contamination could have happened through feeding of imported milk feed substitutes in which milk fat was replaced by rendering-plant fat. In April 2001 the European Commission listed the Czech Republic as a Category III country "likely to present a BSE risk", based on assessments of the amount of live cattle and feed of animal origin imported into countries in question. Other countries listed in the same category were Poland, Hungary, Estonia, Lithuania, Slovakia, Cyprus, and Switzerland.

Source: OIE; Reuters; ProMED

What is the country’s production and trade in affected animals and animal products? The Czech Republic has less than 0.2% of the world cattle stocks. In 1999 live cattle exports accounted for less than 0.6% of world cattle exports (Table A). No official data are available pertinent to the destination of exported cattle for that time period. However, recent news reports stated that this year the Czech Republic exported beef and live cattle to Austria, Germany, France, Greece, Bulgaria, Italy, Portugal, Slovakia, and Russia. Production and trade in live sheep and goats are very small, making up less than 0.1% of world production and trade in these animals.

Table A: Stocks and Trade in Live Animals, Czech Republic

Live Animal 2000 Stocks Trade 1999 Exports 1999 Imports Head % World Head % World Head % World Cattle 1,573,530 <0.2% 53,880 <0.6% 13,228 <0.2% Page 34 of 98 8/3/2006 Sheep 84,108 <0.1% 791 <0.1% 93 <0.1% Goats 31,988 <0.1% 115 <0.1% 21 <0.1%

The Czech Republic’s exports of beef and veal accounted for less than 0.1% of world beef and veal exports in 1999 and are negligible in terms of world trade in these products (Table B). In addition, no mutton, lamb, or goat meats were exported in 1999.

Table B: Production and Trade in Relevant Products, Czech Republic Products

2000 Production, provisional Trade

1998 Exports 1998 Imports Metric ton % World Metric ton % World Metric ton % World Beef and veal 110,261 <0.2% 2,249 <0.1% 3,325 <0.1% Mutton and lamb 2,950 <0.1% Page 35 of 98 8/3/2006 0 0.0% 179 <0.1% Goat meat 290 <0.1% 0 0.0% 0 0.0%

Note: Sheep and goats were included here as ‘affected’ animals because APHIS has included all ruminants and ruminant products in restrictions pertaining to BSE.

Sources: UN Food and Agriculture Organization, Reuters.

Did the US have restrictions on ruminant imports from the Czech Republic prior to the current case?

In December 1997, APHIS prohibited the importation of live ruminants and most ruminant products from all of Europe including the Czech Republic until a thorough assessment of the risks of introduction of BSE into the US could be made. Prior to December 1997, import restrictions were applied only to those countries which had reported cases of BSE in native animals. In addition, the importation of ruminant meat from BSE-affected countries was permitted if the meat was deboned and free of visually identifiable lymphatic and nervous tissue and if it met other restrictions. The import regulations enacted in December 1997 extended the import restrictions to countries that had not had a declared case of BSE, yet had risk factors for the occurrence of BSE.

These regulatory changes also removed the provisions which allowed the importation of ruminant meat from the restricted countries, essentially prohibiting the importation of ruminant meat from all of Europe. These import restrictions also applied to bone meal, blood meal, meat meal, offal, fat, glands, and serum from ruminants. Additionally, in December 2000, APHIS expanded its import restrictions regarding BSE by prohibiting all imports of rendered animal protein products, regardless of species, from Europe.

Source: USDA, APHIS, VS

What are the US imports of affected animals or animal products from the country?

In accordance with the 1997 ban on the importation of live ruminants and most ruminant products including meat from Europe, the World Trade Atlas data show no such imports from the Czech Republic in 2000 or January - March 2001. The Czech Republic has two meat processing establishments approved to ship pork products to the US. However, according to available data, during 2000 and January - March 2001 no product from these plants was exported to the US.

The US imports some dairy products such as butter and cheese from the Czech Republic. These products are unlikely sources of BSE.

Source: World Trade Atlas; USDA, APHIS, VS; USDA, FSIS.

Page 36 of 98 8/3/2006

What is the level of passenger traffic arriving in the United States from the affected country?

A total of 45,438 passengers arrived in the US on direct flights from the Czech Republic in fiscal year 2000. It is likely that additional passengers originating in the Czech Republic traveled to the US on non-direct flights.

As part of APHIS-PPQ’s Agriculture Quarantine Inspection Monitoring, 238 air passengers from the Czech Republic were inspected for items of agricultural interest in fiscal year 2000. Of these, 10, or 4.2%, were found to be carrying a total of 17 kg of items that could potentially present a risk for BSE. None of the passengers with items reported plans to visit or work on a farm or ranch while in the US.

Source: US Department of Transportation, and APHIS-PPQ Agricultural Quarantine Inspection data base

CEI’s plans for follow-up:

CEI has no further plans regarding this case. However, if you seek more information or wish to comment on this worksheet, please reply to this message or contact Milo Muller at (970) 490-

http://www.fsis.usda.gov/OPPDE/Comments/2006-0011/2006-0011-1.pdf

SEE BSE threat from air passenger traffic, country by country ;

APHIS-2007-0033-0002.1

Docket APHIS-2007-0033 Docket Title Agricultural Bioterrorism Protection Act of 2002; Biennial Review and Republication of the Select Agent and Toxin List Docket Type Rulemaking Document APHIS-2007-0033-0001 Document Title Agricultural Bioterrorism Protection Act of 2002; Biennial Review and Republication of the Select Agent and Toxin List Public Submission APHIS-2007-0033-0002.1 Public Submission Title Attachment to Singeltary comment Views


http://www.regulations.gov/fdmspublic/ContentViewer?objectId=090000648027c28e&disposition=attachment&contentType=pdf


http://www.regulations.gov/fdmspublic/ContentViewer?objectId=090000648027c28e&disposition=attachment&contentType=pdf


http://www.regulations.gov/fdmspublic/component/main?main=DocumentDetail&o=090000648027c28e


Docket Management Docket: 02N-0276 - Bioterrorism Preparedness; Registration of Food Facilities, Section 305 Comment Number: EC -254 Accepted - Volume 11

2003-04-08 10:36:55

http://www.fda.gov/OHRMS/DOCKETS/DOCKETS/02n0276/02N-0276-EC-254.htm


http://madcowfeed.blogspot.com/2008/07/docket-aphis-2007-0033-docket-title.html


Sunday, April 12, 2009

BSE MAD COW TESTING USA 2009 FIGURES

Month Number of Tests

Feb 2009 -- 1,891

Jan 2009 -- 4,620


http://www.aphis.usda.gov/newsroom/hot_issues/bse/surveillance/ongoing_surv_results.shtml



http://madcowtesting.blogspot.com/2009/04/bse-mad-cow-testing-usa-2009-figures.html



PLEASE SEE MY FULL COMMENT SUBMISSION IN THE PDF ATTACHMENT, OR GO HERE

Thursday, April 9, 2009

Docket No. FDA2002N0031 (formerly Docket No. 2002N0273) RIN 0910AF46 Substances Prohibited From Use in Animal Food or Feed; Final Rule: Proposed


http://madcowfeed.blogspot.com/2009/04/docket-no-fda2002n0031-formerly-docket.html


http://prionunitusaupdate2008.blogspot.com/2009/04/r-calf-and-usa-mad-cow-problem-dont.html#comments


Sunday, April 12, 2009 r-calf and the USA mad cow problem, don't look, don't find, and then blame Canada


http://prionunitusaupdate2008.blogspot.com/2009/04/r-calf-and-usa-mad-cow-problem-dont.html


http://prionunitusaupdate2008.blogspot.com/2009/04/cjd-foundation-sides-with-r-calfers-no.html#comments




TSS