Italian Dies of CJD, Prompts Calls For Beef Ban
September 9, 2000 - 0:0
ROME An Italian man who died in a Rome hospital two weeks ago was the victim of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD), his family and a health official said on Thursday.
CJD has been linked to the brain-wasting BSE (bovine spongiform encephalopathy), also known as mad cow disease, which has killed thousands of cows across Europe since tracking began in the early 1990s.
The man, named only as Giulio Enzo R., 63, complained of headaches in July and underwent various treatments before dying on August 22 in Rome's Sant'Eugenio Hospital.
"The Institute of Health told us by telephone that doctors at Sant'Eugenio had said our father was suffering from Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease," one of the man's daughters told the Italian news agency ANSA.
"We are scared because our father had never been abroad, led a normal life with his family and whatever he ate, we ate," she said.
Health director Patrizia Rodino said health authorities had been alerted to the fact that the man had been suffering from CJD, which progressively destroys brain cells.
Greens Deputy Paolo Cento demanded urgent answers from the health and agriculture ministries as to why it took so long for news of the CJD victim to be made public.
"Public opinion cannot be kept in the dark over the fact that a person in the capital has died from CJD," he said.
Italy's Agriculture Minister Alfonso Pecoraro Scanio is a member of the Greens Party.
Consumers association Aduc called for an immediate ban on all beef imports from Britain, France, Portugal, Denmark and Switzerland and said Italy should defy the European Commission which lifted an earlier embargo on beef.
"We may well be brought to the European Court as happened with France, but it would be worth it because political points cannot be traded with those of health safety and prevention," Aduc President Vicenzo Donvito said.
France has defied an August 1999 European Commission order to lift a three-year ban on imports of British beef, imposed over BSE.
Greens Senator Athos de Luca urged the Health Ministry to ensure urgent action against any new cases by looking into the operations of slaughterhouses, veterinary controls before slaughter and the training of slaughterhouse personnel.
(Reuter)
CJD has been linked to the brain-wasting BSE (bovine spongiform encephalopathy), also known as mad cow disease, which has killed thousands of cows across Europe since tracking began in the early 1990s.
The man, named only as Giulio Enzo R., 63, complained of headaches in July and underwent various treatments before dying on August 22 in Rome's Sant'Eugenio Hospital.
"The Institute of Health told us by telephone that doctors at Sant'Eugenio had said our father was suffering from Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease," one of the man's daughters told the Italian news agency ANSA.
"We are scared because our father had never been abroad, led a normal life with his family and whatever he ate, we ate," she said.
Health director Patrizia Rodino said health authorities had been alerted to the fact that the man had been suffering from CJD, which progressively destroys brain cells.
Greens Deputy Paolo Cento demanded urgent answers from the health and agriculture ministries as to why it took so long for news of the CJD victim to be made public.
"Public opinion cannot be kept in the dark over the fact that a person in the capital has died from CJD," he said.
Italy's Agriculture Minister Alfonso Pecoraro Scanio is a member of the Greens Party.
Consumers association Aduc called for an immediate ban on all beef imports from Britain, France, Portugal, Denmark and Switzerland and said Italy should defy the European Commission which lifted an earlier embargo on beef.
"We may well be brought to the European Court as happened with France, but it would be worth it because political points cannot be traded with those of health safety and prevention," Aduc President Vicenzo Donvito said.
France has defied an August 1999 European Commission order to lift a three-year ban on imports of British beef, imposed over BSE.
Greens Senator Athos de Luca urged the Health Ministry to ensure urgent action against any new cases by looking into the operations of slaughterhouses, veterinary controls before slaughter and the training of slaughterhouse personnel.
(Reuter)