Local cattle being fed suspect British feed for years - DEMAND AND SUPPLY

There is absolutely good reason to be paranoid about the mad cow disease. As it turns out, the Philippines is one of four major importers of possibly infected cattle feed from Britain since the 1980s. In a table published in conjunction with an article on the mad cow disease, Newsweek cited official British figures that indicated the Philippines imported some 20,000 metric tons of cattle feed that could be possibly tainted with the mad cow prions.

That is small compared to the 600,000 metric tons imported by Indonesia and the 185,000 metric tons imported by Thailand. But you don't need a whole lot to get infected. In fact, according to Newsweek, "the United Nations is urging non-European countries that imported British offal during the 1980s and 90s to consider themselves at risk for BSE and its human variant." Because the animal feed we imported had those suspect animal parts and organs, the Agriculture department should quickly come up with a credible program to deal with the problem.

I belatedly read the March 12, 2001 issue of Newsweek, which carried the article and I must say it was one of the scariest articles I have ever read on a public health matter. Newsweek said it best: "Mad cow is the creepiest in a family of disorders that can make Ebola look like chicken-pox." It is untreatable and it ravages the brain. It is a terrible way to leave this world.

The Ebola virus didn't seem half as scary when it was first reported probably because it requires direct contact with an infected person and they are mostly in darkest Africa. On the other hand, the mad cow prion may be waiting for you in the hamburger, hot dog or steak on your lunch or dinner table. We are all instantly, potential victims.

Not even America is safe. Newsweek reports that "America's safeguards and surveillance efforts are far weaker than most people realize. And in many of the developing countries that now face the greatest risk (that's us, I presume), such efforts are nonexistent." Take note, Secretary Montemayor, non existent efforts daw.

What makes us totally helpless to this mad cow disease is the fact that the prions that cause it are invisible to the immune system, which probably means, you can't have a vaccine for it. The prions are also tough enough to survive harsh solvents and extreme temperatures. As Newsweek puts it, "you can freeze them, boil them, soak them in formaldehyde or carbolic acid or chloroform, and most will emerge no less deadly than they were."

Eating infected beef isn't the only way you can get it. Some medical procedures and therapies can infect you too. For example, short people who want to grow taller and are prescribed growth hormones are at great risk. Apparently, human cadavers were the only known source of the growth hormone from the pituitary gland. Many of those who were given that hormone have fallen victim to the human version of the mad cow disease.

One can also get the human version of the mad cow disease through surgery. A woman from Colorado got it and died from it after undergoing brain surgery. Doctors used a patch of brain sheathing called dura matter to close the incision. The patch was infected.

Still another way of getting the disease is through cannibalism. A Nobel prize winner found this out among a tribe in Papua New Guinea. The tribal folks thought sorcerers casting spells caused a condition they called kuru. Little did they know it was their habit of eating their dead loved ones instead of burying them that's striking them down with kuru.

Studies, according to Newsweek, suggest that brain-destroying prions are more likely to show up in meat torn from a cow's spinal column than, say, a rump roast. The most infectious cow parts – the brain, spinal cord, spleen, thymus, tonsils and intestines – are now banned for consumption by man or beast in developed countries. Heaven knows how we still eat them in our part of the world.

If you really can't stop eating beef, you may want to follow the advice of European health agencies. They say that the greatest dangers come from burgers, sausages and meat still attached to the bone, such as T-bone steak. Eating bone marrow or bulalo is definitely asking for it. That's because these cow parts are more likely to contain nerve fibers and therefore more likely to harbor the prions involved in mad cow disease. Flank steak and filet mignon are presumably safer.

An American institution may also be in danger. According to Newsweek, "an American hotdog, for example, can contain up to 20 percent mechanically separated meat, which the government describes as a paste-like and batter-like meat product produced by forcing bones with attached edible meat under high pressure through a sieve." I guess that means, hot dogs can be risky.

The Newsweek article suggests that Russia and Southeast Asian countries (that's us) that imported feed and cattle from Britain during the 1980s and 90s should mount extensive surveillance efforts. Those silly Agriculture and Meat Inspection officials who publicly feasted on beef dishes the other week would do better public service if they launched a program to check on local cattle instead.

Because some local cattle, like those in commercial farms, have been fed British feed, they could be carriers of the mad cow prions. It is no good to give the public a false sense of security. Paranoia is better, until our officials have done their homework. For starters, we should be told who used those imported British cattle feed.

Ay naku. Just when I started to eat beef again, I had to read this article. I don't know if you can still get the March 12 issue at the newstands. But for your health and that of your family, I think you should make an effort to read it. It is scary enough to make you an overnight vegetarian.

Slowdown

The release of January import numbers by the National Statistics Office (NSO) is another reason for investors to be pessimistic about things. January imports dropped 6.8 percent to $2.5 billion. Because our exports are largely labor value added to imported raw materials, the decline in imports can be taken to signal economic slowdown in the coming months. The logic is simple: fewer goods will be shipped abroad since fewer raw materials were imported. Actually, it was worse the month before with a drastic 15.7-percent plunge in December imports y-o-y.

Our heavy dependence on electronics, notably computer components, will adversely affect our dollar earning capacity as the high tech market declines in our key markets: the United States and Japan. The economic downturn in both economies will most likely mean job losses here.

It really makes a lot of sense for us to work double time to diversify our products and markets. The DTI will have to be doubly creative. In the meantime, we will have to export more labor to earn the precious dollars.

Meal

Speaking of cannibalism causing a human version of the mad cow disease, here's Dr. Ernie's contribution for the day.

Q: What does a cannibal call a circus tightrope walker?

A: A well-balanced meal.

(Boo Chanco's e-mail address is [email protected])