Bernard J. Durkan
Ceist:128 Mr. Durkan asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food the steps he proposes to take to identify the cause or causes of a possible incident of botulism; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26135/02]
Written Answers. - Bovine Diseases.
Botulism is caused by a bacterium called clostridium botulinum that causes harmful effects by producing a toxin. There are five types of the botulism toxin, A, B, C, D and E. Types C and D are common to cattle. Botulism can be contracted from poultry litter contaminated with decomposing organic material from the carcasses of dead chicks when spread on land grazed by cattle. A number of cases in the Cork and Waterford areas have recently come to the attention and are currently being investigated. Botulism in cattle is not a notifiable disease under the Diseases of Animals Act, 1966.
My Department has also, by way of a press release drawn attention of farmers to the botulism problem and has urged them to take precautionary measures when handling poultry litter material.
Bernard J. Durkan
Ceist:129 Mr. Durkan asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food the extent of information available to him arising from research into the causes of BSE; the cause or causes whereby younger animals could become infected; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26136/02]
The overwhelming evidence is that the BSE agent infects cattle through the feeding of infected meat and bonemeal or feeding compound feed contaminated with infected meat and bonemeal. There is also a theoretical risk of maternal transmission from dam to offspring, although this has not been proven in practice.
There is an increasingly positive underlying trend in relation to BSE. In 2002 less than 2% of cases, have been identified in animals less than six years old at the time of diagnosis, compared to 16% in 2001 and 40% in 2000. In the period August to November 2002, inclusive, the number of BSE cases identified, at 102, is down by more than one-third on the corresponding period of 2001 – 157.
Four animals born in 1997 have been confirmed as BSE positive. An animal born in 1999 has also been confirmed with the disease. This animal was discovered when the herd cohorts of a 1993-born infected animal were depopulated and tested. My Department is conducting an in-depth investigation of all possible sources of infectivity and it is as yet too early to draw any conclusions in relation to the source of the infection of this animal.
Considerable time and attention has been devoted to the control regime for BSE. All of the relevant controls are fully operational and are kept under review. If ongoing operational experience indicates that controls should be adjusted, this will be done as necessary. Current controls include, inter alia, whole herd depopulation, tracing and culling of birth cohorts and progeny of BSE-infected animals, a ban on feeding meat and bonemeal to all farmed animals intended for human consumption, compulsory notification of the disease, ante and post mortem inspections at all meat plants, the removal of SRM from the human food and animal feed chains, and a comprehensive active surveillance programme among all cattle over 30 months of age and all casualty cattle over 24 months of age in meat plants, and all fallen cattle over 24 months of age in knackeries. To date, more than 1.3 million cattle have been tested, more than 1.2 million of which have been cattle over 30 months of age intended for human consumption.