No sign of BSE in Malta

Cattle in Malta are tested regularly for possible cases of Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE), known as mad cow disease, but no cases have been registered in Malta, said Mireille Vella, the director of the International and Legal Coordination Department in the Food and Veterinary Regulatory Division.

UK reports last week said that just under 4,000 people in Britain might harbour the human alternative of BSE, Variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (vCJD).

The Health Department in Malta is taking measures to avoid anyone harbouring the disease from spreading it through blood donations. Ms Vella told The Times that tests on all cattle had been going on for years, and that the checks were carried out through an EU approved test.

A wider web of checks, apart from the tests, were also done, with all the cow's moves tracked down throughout its life. Dr Vella explained that within seven days of birth a calf was tagged and entered into the department's database.

"The cow's movements are tracked until it is slaughtered and its meat is checked for possible BSE," she said.

The department even keeps tabs on cattle feed, since BSE is thought to be contracted through feed, Dr Vella explained. She said that if one cow had the disease it was very possible that others which ate the same food would also have contracted it.

Vets were briefed about the disease and its symptoms, and they were duty bound to report to the division if any such case was found. Even farmers had been given in-depth information about BSE.

Mad cow disease afflicted the UK some years ago, and over the years herds of cattle had to be culled. The disease involves pronounced changes in mental state, abnormalities of posture, movement and of sensation. It usually lasts for several weeks, and is characteristically progressive and fatal.

Last week, UK media reported that scientists found evidence suggesting that just under 4,000 Britons could be harbouring vCJD. Researchers at Plymouth's Derriford Hospital and the CJD Surveillance Unit tested more than 12,600 appendix and tonsil samples, three of which showed signs of vCJD. When the findings were extrapolated to the whole population, it was estimated that 3,800 Britons could be harbouring the disease.

When contacted, a spokesman for the Health Department said that as part of the local control measures to prevent the transmission of vCJD, people who lived in the UK for a cumulative period of six months between 1980 and 1996 were not allowed to donate blood.

"This measure is in line with the guidance provided by the Council of Europe on blood banking," he said.

The department spokesman said the risk of acquiring the disease from eating beef (muscle meat) and beef products produced in countries with an increased risk of BSE could not be precisely determined.

The vCJD was described by the spokesman as a "neurodegenerative" disease, which predominantly affected younger people, and the medium age at death was at around 29 years. He explained that at the time of clinical presentation, psychiatric and sensory symptoms were prominent, with ataxia - inability to coordinate voluntary movement - developing within weeks or months, and dementia and myoclonus - twitching of muscles - developing late in the stage of the illness. The illness usually lasts around six months.