Minister of Agriculture, Roger Clarke, is to meet with local agricultural officials among them the veterinary division tomorrow to discuss whether stronger measures are needed to protect Jamaica in light of reports that a second case of mad cow disease has been confirmed in the United States.
Speaking with The Gleaner yesterday, the Agriculture Minister said his ministry was taking the necessary precautions. It was not clear whether the country would follow Taiwan's actions and ban U.S. beef imports.
"Monday morning I intend to again meet with my veterinary staff and for us to review the situation to see if any further action is necessary and therefore after Monday, I will be able to tell you if we need to do anything more than what we have done because we have already put systems in place to guard against the disease coming into the country," he said.
no need for panic
Mr. Clarke has sought to assure Jamaicans that there is no need for panic.
"We've taken all precautions to make sure that mad cow disease does not come into the country. Whatever meat comes here, we have made sure it comes from
certified plants and that the
stipulations we have outlined are adhered to, so there is no need to panic," Minister Clarke said.
His words echoed those of United States Agriculture
Secretary Mike Johanns.
Speaking with the U.S. media, he said that the new case did not pose a risk for human health because the cow was banned from the food supply.
The first case of mad cow
disease was confirmed in the U.S. in December 2003.
Mad cow facts
Mad cow disease is officially known as bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE). It is a disease that kills cows by destroying the animal's brain. The human equivalent of mad cow disease is variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease or vCJD. The only known way a human can become infected with mad cow disease is through the transmission of the deformed
proteins that cause the disease, which can happen by eating infected meat.
Source:http://www.sustainabletable.
org/issues/madcow/
