The Ministry of Agriculture confirmed this Monday (03) the temporary suspension of health certificates for the export of beef to China, reports “Agência Brasil”. The measure occurs after the notification of a case of atypical Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy, also known as mad cow disease, in Mato Grosso.
The disease was reported last Friday (31) and, according to the ministry, it is an isolated occurrence and poses no risk to the population. According to the ministry, the automatic suspension complies with a protocol signed between the two countries in 2015. The ministry explained that this is not a ban, as exports cannot be made without the certificate.
“In the case of China, the Brazilian Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Supply temporarily suspended the issuance of health certificates until the Chinese authority completes its assessment of the information already transmitted about the episode, thus complying with the provisions of the bilateral protocol signed in 2015,” the ministry said in a statement.
According to the Brazilian government, the International Organization for Animal Health (OIE), after analyzing the occurrence, maintained Brazil's health status unchanged, which remains as an “insignificant risk” for the disease.
According to the Ministry's Agricultural Defense Secretariat, the case was registered in a 17-year-old beef cow. The animal was slaughtered and had the material at risk of contamination removed and incinerated in the slaughterhouse itself. The products derived from the cow were identified and seized as a precaution.
With the preventive measures taken, the ministry ruled out the risk of the disease spreading to the population because no animal residue entered the human or ruminant food chain. All countries importing the Brazilian product were also informed.
Beef exports to other countries were not affected. The temporary suspension agreement is specific to China.
About the disease
A brain disease in adult cattle that can be transmitted to humans through the ingestion of contaminated meat, mad cow disease is caused by altered proteins and has no cure or treatment. The brains of victims lose mass and become like sponges, with the patient suffering accelerated mental deterioration and falling into a coma within a few months. There is no transmission from one person to another.
In the late 1990s, some European countries faced an outbreak of mad cow disease cases due to other animals consuming processed feed from cattle affected by the disease.
