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French goat confirmed with 'mad cow' disease in disturbing world first
Yahoo! News | AFP ^ | 1/28/05

Posted on 01/28/2005 8:18:51 AM PST by LibWhacker

A goat slaughtered in France in 2002 has tested positive for "mad cow" disease, French and EU officials said, announcing the first case in the world of an animal other than a bovine coming down with the fatal illness that can be transmitted to humans.

The discovery of the disease -- known scientifically as bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) in cows -- is a disturbing sign that it can cross over to other species used for human consumption.

The presence of BSE in other animals had been viewed as theoretically possible but has never previously been detected.

BSE has been linked to variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (vCJD), the human form of mad cow disease, which causes brain-wasting, personality change, loss of body function, and ultimately death.

The French agriculture ministry said the new case was confirmed by a panel of scientists appointed by the European Commission.

It stressed that the Commission was not yet recommending consumers avoid buying products with goat meat but was advising EU states to step up checks for any other goats showing BSE symptoms, such as trembling and lacking coordination.

British health authorities said in October last year that British scientists in a laboratory in Weybridge, England, were testing brain tissue from the goat.

The goat in question was slaughtered in an abbatoir in Ales, in southern France in 2002 but was kept out of the food chain. The 300 other goats in its herd were destroyed as a precaution even though testing revealed no trace of BSE in any of them.

There are 1.2 million goats raised in France, of with 940,000 are used to produce milk for dairy products.

BSE first appeared in cows on a farm in West Sussex, south England in 1986. The disease has an incubation period of around five years.


TOPICS: News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: bse; france; french; goat; madcow; madcowdisease
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1 posted on 01/28/2005 8:18:51 AM PST by LibWhacker
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To: LibWhacker

From the headline, I thought they were talking about Chirac for a second...


2 posted on 01/28/2005 8:19:25 AM PST by mike182d
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To: LibWhacker


Is this the goat? Wait! This is a weasel. Sorry.
3 posted on 01/28/2005 8:21:00 AM PST by HMFIC (The Peace Symbol is the FOOTPRINT of the American CHICKEN!)
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To: mike182d
French * confirmed with 'mad cow' disease

* - placeholder
4 posted on 01/28/2005 8:21:13 AM PST by seppel
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To: LibWhacker

Tracking and testing is the solution.


5 posted on 01/28/2005 8:21:23 AM PST by TBall
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To: LibWhacker
The discovery of the disease -- known scientifically as bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) in cows -- is a disturbing sign that it can cross over to other species

Hey, it is lonely out there in the fields. Even for goats.

6 posted on 01/28/2005 8:22:27 AM PST by gov_bean_ counter
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To: LibWhacker

Oh no.


7 posted on 01/28/2005 8:23:10 AM PST by zygoat
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To: LibWhacker

Why did it take three years for this to become public?
Could CYA be a possible motive?


8 posted on 01/28/2005 8:23:44 AM PST by macrahanish #1
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To: LibWhacker

Are they sure the poor goat doesn't have AIDS.


9 posted on 01/28/2005 8:25:14 AM PST by OldFriend (America's glory is not dominion, but liberty.)
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To: LibWhacker
In a related story...


10 posted on 01/28/2005 8:26:56 AM PST by Delta 21 (MKC USCG -ret)
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To: LibWhacker

How serious a problem is mad cow disease? Sometimes I downplay things of this nature because I know the media likes to hype things up so much.


11 posted on 01/28/2005 8:28:16 AM PST by squidward
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To: farmfriend


12 posted on 01/28/2005 8:28:21 AM PST by Libertarianize the GOP (Make all taxes truly voluntary)
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To: macrahanish #1

Good question. America would've released the information within a day if it had happened here.


13 posted on 01/28/2005 8:33:14 AM PST by LibWhacker
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To: LibWhacker
French muslims are in mourning.
14 posted on 01/28/2005 8:33:40 AM PST by CzarNicky (The problem with bad ideas is that they seemed like good ideas at the time.)
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To: squidward

I don't know. I sure hope it's hype. The incubation period in humans is ten years, iirc.


15 posted on 01/28/2005 8:34:50 AM PST by LibWhacker
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To: squidward
Mad Cow is very serious my friend. We really do not know how long its been going around. The dormant time table is anywhere from 2-20 years. For all we know, all the population who eats any kind of meat is already infected and has so for years.

The problem is that beef is in everything from makeup, to toothpaste, to animal feed. So you say you will stop eating beef? Won't work because leftover beef and stuff is ground up and feed to chickens, pigs and other cows.

16 posted on 01/28/2005 8:35:15 AM PST by BigTex5
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To: zygoat

lol


17 posted on 01/28/2005 8:35:36 AM PST by LibWhacker
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To: squidward

I keep wondering the same thing. Last I heard there still wasn't a firm consensus on what the mode of transmission is, although they lean towards prions, which are supposedly virtually indestructible, even at autoclave temps. And the linkage between BSE and CJD still seems to be pretty tenuous. But maybe that's just my impression. Anyone up to speed on the latest scientific thinking on this topic?


18 posted on 01/28/2005 8:35:40 AM PST by -YYZ-
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To: LibWhacker

cheese-eating spongiform monkeys.


19 posted on 01/28/2005 8:36:25 AM PST by printhead
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To: squidward

I guess it's not such a big deal. After all, the Frnch seem to have it in all their living beings, so it kinda comes natural.


20 posted on 01/28/2005 8:36:35 AM PST by seppel
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