Outbreak of CJD in South Africa
-------------------------------
Around noon last Friday (17th) on the road to Estcourt (KwaZulu-
Natal) cattle gathering on their own were seeking refuge below trees
as dark clouds coming from Durban were starting to cover the Drakens-
berg region. But something else was making slowly its way to the ma-
jestic site. In a matter of half an hour, roadblocks with armed vehi-
cles were organised by the South African Army at all exit of the
small town. Every vehicle's boots were systematically searched.
With these impressive measures the Minister of Agriculture, Thoko
Didiza, is trying to reduce the risk of a further outbreak of a vi-
rus, identified as Type O, new to South Africa, probably introduced
by kitchen refuse thrown off a ship docked at Durban (S.A. Business
Times). The virus causes the "foot-and-mouth" diseases among cloven-
hoofed animals. The first outbreak appeared two months ago in Camper-
down. The disease is usually found in the Middle East, Thailand and
India.
Most rural cattle in the Drakensberg are left gathering freely, some-
times blocking roads. These refreshing and picturesque scenes may be
at risk as they are more susceptible to be exposed to the foot-and-
mouth disease. It is also feared that the wildlife may be affected by
the outbreak. An estimated loss of 1.5 billion Rand may result of a
ban on meat exports (beef, pork, mutton) and of consequences on tour-
ism.
The herd of rural farmers are being destroyed to stop the spread of
the disease. In these already poor rural areas it may mean that farm-
ers are facing ruin.
Ironically this mode of farming should prevent these cattle of the
effect of animal mass-production, which in Europe is now causing the
spread of BSE.
In Europe three decades ago, small farms were prevailing in rural ar-
eas. Nowadays mass-production is extensively using "animal-flours": a
mixture that is composed of (if I recall well) animal carcass, oils
and even sometimes (in extreme cases perhaps) of sediments of water
retreating plants. France is now badly affected by BSE with beef meat
consume falling (three weeks ago French mayors removed beef from
school-lunch menus to protect children, but the prime minister Jospin
re-imposed it to avoid a so-called "psychose" over the danger of eat-
ing beef). Two weeks ago in Portugal a girl died of the variant of
CJD (81 in Britain, 1 in Ireland and 2 in France). The first case of
BSE was found in Germany this week. The whole of Europe is concerned
(source Guardian):
BSE cases (bovine)
Britain: 177,465
Ireland: 546
Portugal: 453
Switzerland: 364
France: 179 (one import)
Belgium: 18
Germany: 7 (six imports)
Netherlands: 6
Denmark: 2
Liechtenstein: 2
Spain: 2
Luxembourg: 1
Germany is now banning the use of "animal-flour". But doctors in
Hanover were already suspicious of meat when a girl died of CJD a few
years ago. In France, the two families of CJD victims introduced a
legal action against French authorities for having ignored during
years the known danger represented by BSE.
Also to note, a lion suffering from the feline version of the "mad
cow" (BSE) in the Cornish zoo was put down. Since 1986 varieties of
exotic species have been reported with BSE-type of illnesses (oce-
lots, pumas, cheetahs) (GW, Vol. 163, No. 22, p. 10).
About 70 persons died in France from CJD following a careless program
of "hormone de croissance" extracted from the gland of the brain of
died persons. The project that was run in co-operation with the Pas-
teur Institute, received early warnings from Montagnier (in form of a
letter) that the pion protein was too small to be retained by fil-
ters; these warnings were ignored. Parents of a French boy who did
not want him to receive the hormone, were faced by medical teams
threatening of removing them the custody of their child if they would
oppose the hormone, the child died of CJD before age 20 (French and
German medical teams often display such authoritative patterns). A
young woman who had also received the hormone extract, was separated
from her parents by French psychologists until a young medical stu-
dent recognised the CJD symptoms. Although the hormone is now re-
placed by a synthetic version, French authorities did not inform par-
ents and victims of the CJD danger.
As several countries of the Southern African region are depending on
meat exports for their economies, it may be urgent to call for more
funding in their universities to staff research on BSE and other dis-
eases affecting cattle. The systematic denial that has prevailed in
Europe to favour mass-production methods and to protect the economy
was not only a public-health unacceptable mistake but an economically
miss-guided and short-sited measure.
It is time for Southern Africa to educate rural areas about those
diseases and to prepare themselves for the drastic economical conse-
quences that are coming ahead. With SADC putting the final touch at
measures to promote "free market" in Southern Africa, the lessons of
the European bovine mass-production should be taken. Imported eco-
nomical good practices should be put under tough scrutiny while keep-
ing the consequences of diseases such as BSE in mind. These aspects
are all too often missing in growth economical models.
Let us hope the health issue that affect rural cattle and wildlife in
the Drakensberg will obtain the world-wide "visibility" they deserve.
Christian Labadie
mailto:CLabadie@t-online.de
--
Send mail for the `AFRO-NETS' conference to `afro-nets@usa.healthnet.org'.
Mail administrative requests to `majordomo@usa.healthnet.org'.
For additional assistance, send mail to: `owner-afro-nets@usa.healthnet.org'.