Posted on 03/03/2010 10:45:44 PM PST by neverdem
Mass cull of goats questioned as researchers race to find strain behind human cases.
The chief veterinary officer of the Netherlands has defended the country's decision to cull thousands of goats in an effort to control an unprecedented outbreak of Q fever.
The Netherlands "can't take a chance", Christianne Bruschke told Nature after a meeting in Breda — a city near the heart of the outbreak.
At the meeting, scientists from other countries questioned the tactic. But Bruschke said that in other countries the authorities have been able to ignore the disease because there have been relatively few cases. In the Netherlands, however, epidemiological studies pinpointed goats as the source of the disease — in an area increasingly densely populated by humans and dairy farms over the past decade, she added — so the country had to act fast.
Q fever, caused by Coxiella burnetii bacteria, is harboured in mammals, birds and even insects. It can trigger abortions in goats and sheep and causes flu-like symptoms and sometimes pneumonia in humans.
After more than 2,200 confirmed human cases of the disease last year, the Dutch government slaughtered over 50,000 dairy goats on 55 of the country's nearly 400 farms in an effort to prevent the disease from spreading further...
(Excerpt) Read more at nature.com ...
Be a real bummer if after deeper study the goats weren’t part of the problem after all.
This news will upset adherents of TROP in Holland..
Goats..
Ping... (Thanks, neverdem!)
Thanks for the ping!
How sad, poor goats.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.