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France To Check Cattle For Mad Cow Disease PARIS, Jan 23 (AFP) - France will shortly embark on a major cattle-testing program to detect bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), or mad cow disease, Health Secretary Gillot announced in the weekly Journal du Dimanche. Gillot said that the tests beginning within weeks would cover "many tens of thousands of animals." Planning for the huge operation began several weeks ago, she explained. "The organization necessary for the sampling and analyzing is difficult in itself, because many tens of thousands of animals will be tested, but particularly because we need to devise and put in place specific safety measures for the people carrying them out," said Gillot. The modalities would be finalized by early February, but it would take a few more weeks to put them all into place, she added. According to Gillot, the mass tests will allow the government to measure the risks of mad cow disease "as we have called on the British to do over there and as we recommend in all European Union member nations." According to the paper, the U.S. life-science firm Bio-Rad is awaiting the green light from the French authorities to begin the testing program.
On Monday, the French Agriculture Ministry announced the first case of mad cow disease (BSE) this year, detected in the eastern French region of Finistere. France has had 82 recorded cases of cattle infected with BSE since 1991, when the disease first appeared. In 1999 alone, 31 cases of BSE were detected. Britain had 1,869 cases of BSE in the same year. Despite a European Commission decree to renew imports, France has maintained its ban on British beef
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