| http://interestalert.com/brand/siteia.shtml?Story=st/sn/07020000aaa06960.nand&
Sys=v2o&Type=News&Fid=HELTHSCI&Filter=Health/Science Greece confirms first case of mad-cow disease ATHENS, Greece (July 2, 2001 01:41 p.m. EDT ) - Greece confirmed its first case of mad-cow disease Monday at a slaughterhouse in a northern town, agriculture and company officials said. The case was detected in a 5-year-old milk cow at the slaughterhouse in Sidirokastro, said Tassos Kalogerakis, president of the meat processing plant. The bovine spongiform encephalopathy, or BSE, was detected during routine testing implemented on Jan. 1 as part of an effort by the European Union to stop the spread of the disease. BSE has been linked to the fatal human brain ailment Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. Agriculture Minister Giorgos Anomeritis sought to assure Greeks that there was no threat to local consumers. "This event shows there is no chance for meat to go to market without it being examined," Anomeritis said. The diseased cow was part of a group of four animals brought to the slaughterhouse from the neighboring province of Kilkis on June 26, said slaughterhouse veterinarian Giorgos Dangos. Its mother had been imported from Holland in 1994, he said. Greek authorities destroyed 146 animals at the farm the cow came from as a precaution, Kilkis Gov. Theodoros Parastatides said. Officials were waiting to learn the cow's breeding history to determine if more steps have to be taken, he said. It was the first case of BSE recorded in Greece out of a total of 6,703 samples checked since Jan. 1, Anomeritis said. Under EU regulations, all cattle more than 30 months old must undergo testing for the disease. "The goal is that there not be a crisis," Anomeritis said. "That we not have the crisis that other countries had with widespread damages, illnesses and destruction of their livestock." Greece is home to more than a half-million cattle. |
