- Title: FRANCE: AGRICULTURE MINISTRY LAUNCH NEW PROGRAMME TO TEST 48,000 CATTLE FOR BSE.
- Date: 17th June 2000
- Summary: UNIDENTIFIED LOCATION, FRANCE (FILE - SPRING 1999) (REUTERS - ACCESS ALL) 1. GV/PAN/MV: COWS IN FIELD (3 SHOTS) 0.14 CHOLET, FRANCE (JUNE 15, 2000) (REUTERS - ACCESS ALL) 2. GV/MV/PAN: EXTERIOR OF SLAUGHTER HOUSE/ MEAT GRINDER (3 SHOTS) 0.29 3. MV/CU: VETERINARIAN MOVING A COWS HEAD/ CLOSE-UP OF COWS HEAD (2 SHOTS) 0.37 4. MV: VETERINARIAN TAKING SMALL PLASTIC CONTAINER 0.40 5. MV/CU: EXTRACTION OF THE COWS CEREBRAL MATERIAL WHICH IS THEN PLACED INTO PLASTIC CONTAINER/ CLOSE UP OF THE COWS CEREBRAL MATERIAL (3 SHOTS) 1.02 6. MCU: VETERINARIANS THROWING COWS HEAD INTO GARBAGE COLLECTOR 1.09 ANGERS, FRANCE (JUNE 15, 2000) (REUTERS - ACCESS ALL) 7. MCU: (SOUNDBITE) (French) DIRECTOR OF MAINE ET LOIRE VETERINARIANS SERVICES JEAN-LUC MARTIN SAYING: "In order to have statistical meaning regarding the research programme, these tests will be performed on all cattle at risk, that is, those aged over two years old and those located in breeding areas where we have already detected BSE cases. 1.29 8. MCU: CLOSE-UP OF PLAQUE 1.33 9. MCU: (SOUNDBITE) (French) JEAN-LUC MARTIN SAYING: "The real difficulty of these tests is to make sure that the samples will be guaranteed from a tracibility point of view. If the results show we have to slaughter a herd, it is important to make sure that we have all the necessary guarantees and that the samples correspond to a specific animal from a specific herd." 1.56 10. GV/PAN: EXTERIOR OF MAINE ET LOIRE LABORATORY 2.04 11. GV: INTERIOR OF LABORATORY 2.05 12. MV/CU: LABORATORY ASSISTANT OPENING BOX CONTAINING SAMPLES, THEN WITHDRAWING SAMPLES AND DISPLAYING THEM INTO FREEZER/ SAMPLES IN FREEZER (3 SHOTS) 2.28 13. GV/MV/CU: LABORATORY ASSISTANTS/ CLOSE-UP OF LABORATORY ASSISTANT AND PAN TO SAMPLE/ LABORATORY ASSISTANT MANIPULATING SAMPLES (4 SHOTS) 2.55 14. MCU: (SOUNDBITE) (French) DEPUTY DIRECTOR CATHERINE DELNATTE SAYING: "For the time being, we collect the samples, we keep them in stock in the freezer and we will then transfer them to the French food safety agency AFSSA in Lyon. As soon as we have the proper equipment and we are trained in this technique, it should take a few weeks, we, and the other laboratories in Saint Lo and Quimper, will proceed with the tests." 3.30 15. GV: EXTERIOR OF LABORATORIES 3.36 Initials Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved
- Embargoed: 2nd July 2000 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: CHOLET AND ANGERS, FRANCE
- Country: France
- Reuters ID: LVA5DYL8AZ7W0GQFO7Z0Q5S25FCI
- Story Text: The French ministry of agriculture has launched a
programme of new tests on cattle to learn more about the
prevalance and origins of bovine spongiform encephalopathy
(BSE), or 'mad cow disease.'
France has launched a scheme to test 48,000 cattle for
BSE in a bid to measure the extent of the fatal, brain-wasting
illness among the country's 21 million cattle.
The start of the testing programme comes as France remains
on track this year to exceed the 30 cases of mad cow disease,
or BSE detected in 1999.
The tests, conducted across France, but especially in the
worst-hit regions of Brittany, Pays de la Loire and Basse
Normandie in the Northwest and costing 271 million francs
($39.
63 million) will be performed on all cattle at risk,
those aged over two years old and die on the farm or are
killed by a veterinarian, as well as those located in breeding
areas where BSE cases have already been detected.
Jean-Luc Martin, director of Maine et Loire veterinarians
services told Reuters that the main difficulty of these tests
is to make sure that the samples are guaranteed from a
tracibility point of view.
"If the results show we have to slaughter a herd, it is
important to make sure that we have all the necessary
guarantees and that the samples correspond to a specific
animal from a specific herd", he said.
The tests are conducted using a method developed by
Switzerland Prionics AG. Testing methods from two other
companies, French state-owned nuclear power group CEA and
Irelands Enfer Scientific are also under consideration.
The laboratories across France are not yet ready to
conduct the tests because of the lack of proper equipment and
training. For the time being, they are collecting and freezing
the samples which are then sent to the French food safety
agency AFSSA in Lyon.
"As soon as we have the proper equipment and we are
trained in this technique, it should take few weeks, we and
the other laboratories in Saint Lo and Quimper, will proceed
with the tests", said Catherine Delnatte, deputy director of
Maine et Loire laboratory.
The ministry last week reported the 18th case of BSE this
year, bringing to 98 the number of French cases of the disease
since it was first detected in France in the early 1990s.
The French government is locked in a legal battle with the
European Commission over its refusal to lift a ban on imports
of British beef because of fears it is not entirely clear from
BSE.
Britain has reported more than 176,000 cases of BSE,
making the French epidemic look small by comparison.
But while
the number of BSE cases in Britain is falling, the French
outbreak is still growing despite measures introduced almost a
decade ago to combat the spread of BSE through contaminated
animal feed.
France introduced tougher controls on cattle feed in 1996
and had originally predicted that BSE cases would taper off in
2001, given that the disease has a five-year incubation
period.
(jd/
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