DECLARATION OF EXTRAORDINARY EMERGENCY BECAUSE OF AN ATYPICAL T.S.E. (PRION DISEASE) OF FOREIGN ORIGIN IN THE UNITED STATES [Docket No. 00-072-1]

To: Garfield.O.Daley@aphis.usda.gov


CC: phyllis.Fong@usda.gov; bse-L@aegee.org;


Re: FOIA APPEAL 07-566 DECLARATION OF EXTRAORDINARY EMERGENCY BECAUSE OF AN ATYPICAL T.S.E. (PRION DISEASE) OF FOREIGN ORIGIN IN THE UNITED STATES [Docket No. 00-072-1]



November 13, 2007


Greetings Garfield O. Daley, Acting FOIA Director, and USDA et al,


I recieved the following from my FOIA appeal # 07-566 today ;


USDA

Nov. 7, 2007


Terry S. Singeltary, Sr.
Post Office Box 42
Bacliff, Texas 77518


Dear Mr. Singeltary:


This is in response to your Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) appeal under FOIA number 07-566 that you filed on July 11, 2007, for records relating to bio-assays of sheep imported from Belgium (copy enclosed).


Our records indicate that further processing may be necessary. Frequently, we find that requesters' needs for records change. Please let us know if you wish to continue with the FOIA appeal that was filed with the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) on July 11, 2007. I regret that we have been unable to reply sooner and appreciate your patience and understanding.


Please indicate below if you wish to withdraw your appeal or to continue by checking one of the blocks.


Withdraw appeal


XXX Continue appeal


Please return with a box checked to the address below no later than 15 days from the date of this correspondence:


Gardield O. Daley
APHIS Acting FOIA Director
4700 River Road, Unit 50
Riverdale, MD 20737-1232


Or you may email me your response no later than 15 days from the date of this correspondence at: Garfield.O.Daley@aphis.usda.gov or by fax at: 301-734-5941


If we do not receive a response from you pertaining to the continuance of this appeal our office will close the file on November 30, 2007.


Sincerely,

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Garfield O. Daley
Acting FOIA Director
Freedom of Information & Privacy Act Staff
Legislative and Public Affairs

Enclosure


END
=====


Greetings Garfield Daley, Acting FOIA Director,


PLEASE CONTINUE MY APPEAL!


WHY, may I ask after 3+ years from my original FOIA request on this (I understand you have no say in this, and this is not your fault), and after 5+ years from telling the public the testing would be run, after waiting patiently all this time, why would I now want to stop the process without my FOIA being answered?


This is beyond outrageous. This is disgusting, but typical of this administration, and pray tell, what other choice do I have but to wait further and be as patient and diplomatic as possible. But this is becoming more and more difficult. I simply cannot understand what the hold up is on a simple question. I know you have the answer at hand. In fact, I think I know the answer, but I would like it confirmed by the USDA. It's a very simple question and answer. I will review below ;


Question


The infamous mad sheep of mad river valley, the sheep that were imported from Belgium, the sheep that were confiscated and taken in a tactical, covert, clandestine, draconian, manor, the sheep that were supposed to have been infected with an atypical TSE (possibly the NOR-98 atypical type, like the ones we now have documented in 5 different states in the USA i.e. ATYPICAL NOR-98 SCRAPIE, LOCATION UPDATE ON 5 DOCUMENTED CASES THIS YEAR ; The flocks of origin are WY, CO, CA, IN, and MN., personal communication USDA et al. ...TSS), the sheep that there was a ''Declaration of Extraordinary Emergency Because of an Atypical T.S.E. of Foreign Origin in the United States'' declared in the Federal register, the sheep that were slaughtered and to have had testing done, including the mouse bio-assays to confirm this Atypical TSE of Foreign Origin in the US. These studies were put off once after announcing they would be run, then we were assured they would be run, and in fact, they were in progress, and in two years we would have the answer. times up, it's been up for years, now, was it an atypical TSE or not? yes or no? IF so, what strain, what was the pathology? but i would be happy with just a simple yes or no, for now, i'm growing old and tired. We are tired of waiting, it's been 7 years from the time of the declaration, and it was suppose to take 2 years for mouse bio-assays, or will this be just more BSe this Administration passes on to the next, or will we get answers before then? i'm loosing, in fact, i have lost hope. I apologize if this is not a diplomatic letter, but diplomacy does not seem to work here. ...


Sincerely disgusted,

Terry S. Singeltary Sr.
P.O. Box 42
Bacliff, Texas USA 77518



FOIA APPEAL
Reference FOIA 07-566

DECLARATION OF EXTRAORDINARY EMERGENCY BECAUSE OF AN ATYPICAL T.S.E.
(PRION DISEASE) OF FOREIGN ORIGIN IN THE UNITED STATES [Docket No. 00-072-1]


Mouse Bio-Assays

July 11, 2007


TO:

Administrator
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
Ag Box 3401
Washington, DC 20250-3401

C.C.

USDA OIG FOIA
Honorable Phyllis Fong
1400 Independence Ave., SW, Mail Stop 2308
Washington, D.C. 20250

C.C.

Honorable Chairman Henry Waxman
Committee on Oversight and Government Reform
U.S. House of Representatives
2157 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515

Reference FOIA 07-566


To Whom it may concern,

I respectfully wish to appeal the following answer I got from FOIA 07-566
request, see letter that i am appealing and reasons to follow ;

================================

USDA

JULY 3, 2007

Terry S. Singeltary Sr.
P.O. Box 42
Bacliff, Texas USA 77518

Dear Mr. Singeltary:


This is in response to your March 15, 2007, Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request for records related to bio-assays of sheep imported from Belgium. Your request was received in this office on March 27, 2007, and assigned case number FOIA 07-566. We apologize for the delay of this response.

For your information, the FOIA is designed to allow the public access to agency records, not to answer questions. After consulting with agency staff, we were informed up to two years is required for a final result on the bio-assay. Therefore, we did not locate any records responsive to your request. You may appeal our no records determination. If you choose to appeal, your appeal must be in writing and must be sent within 45 days of the date of this letter to:

snip...

To assist the Administrator in reviewing your appeal, provide specific reasons why you believe modification of the determination is warranted.


If you have any questions, please contact..............



Sincerely


Cheri A. Oswalt
Acting Director
Freedom of Information $ Privacy Act Staff
Legislative and Public Affairs

=========================


SPECIFIC REASONS


> For your information, the FOIA is designed to allow the public access to

> agency records, not to answer questions.


IF the pubic is consistantly told that the agency has done said mouse bio-assay or any other request,
but yet the agency in question, consistantly lies about said mouse bio-assay, or any other request,
are you saying we cannot question these actions via FIOA, this is the public last resort ???


> After consulting with agency staff, we were informed up to two years is

> required for a final result on the bio-assay.

> Therefore, we did not locate any records responsive to your request.

OVER 3 years ago, on May 20, 2004, I was told ;


> --- Original Message ---
>
>
> Subject: Re: hello Dr. Sutton.question please.scrapie.TSS
> Date: Thu, 20 May 2004 14:36:09 -0400
> From: Jim.D.Rogers@aphis.usda.gov
> To: flounder@wt.net
>
> Dear Mr. Singeltary,
>
> The Western blot tests on these animals were completed in April of this
> year. That means that we can begin the mouse inoculations. To get the
> results of the Western blot tests, you will need to submit a Freedom of
> Information Act request through our FOIA office. The FAX number there is
> 301-734-5941.
>
> Have a nice day,
>
> Jim Rogers
> APHIS LPA


=========================================================


OVER 5 YEARS AGO WE WERE ALL TOLD THIS ;


>> Imported
>> Belgium/Netherlands
>> Sheep Test Results
>> Background
>> Factsheet
>> Veterinary Services April 2002
>> APHIS
>
>
>
> snip...
>
>> Additional tests will be conducted to determine
>> exactly what TSE the animals have BSE or scrapie.
>> These tests involve the use of bioassays that consist
>> of injecting mice with tissue from the infected animals
>> and waiting for them to develop disease. This testing
>> may take at least 2 to 3 years to complete.
>
>
>
> http://www.aphis.usda.gov/lpa/pubs/fsheet_faq_notice/fs_ahvtsheeptr.pdf


=====================================================


What are the results of those mouse bio-assays ???

Have they even started ???

IF not, when will they begin ???

IF so, when did they begin this time ???

IF these mouse bio-assays have not yet started, and have been put off for 5 years, this
being the 3rd time, now going beyond 7 years when finished, will the agency please explain
this delay on such an important animal and human health matter ???


Thank You,
kind regards,

Terry S. Singeltary Sr.
P.O. Box 42
Bacliff, Texas USA 77518


SOURCES for concern ;


Recently the question has again been brought up as to whether
scrapie is transmissible to man. This has followed reports that the
disease has been transmitted to primates. One particularly lurid
speculation (Gajdusek 1977) conjectures that the agents of scrapie,
kuru, Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease and transmissible encephalopathy of
mink are varieties of a single "virus". The U.S. Department of
Agriculture concluded that it could "no longer justify or permit
scrapie-blood line and scrapie-exposed sheep and goats to be processed
for human or animal food at slaughter or rendering plants" (ARC 84/77)"
The problem is emphasised by the finding that some strains of scrapie
produce lesions identical to the once which characterise the human
dementias"

Whether true or not. the hypothesis that these agents might be
transmissible to man raises two considerations. First, the safety
of laboratory personnel requires prompt attention. Second, action
such as the "scorched meat" policy of USDA makes the solution of the
acrapie problem urgent if the sheep industry is not to suffer
grievously.

snip...

76/10.12/4.6


http://www.bseinquiry.gov.uk/files/yb/1976/10/12004001.pdf



J Infect Dis 1980 Aug;142(2):205-8

Oral transmission of kuru, Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, and scrapie to
nonhuman primates.

Gibbs CJ Jr, Amyx HL, Bacote A, Masters CL, Gajdusek DC.

Kuru and Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease of humans and scrapie disease of sheep
and goats were transmitted to squirrel monkeys (Saimiri sciureus) that were
exposed to the infectious agents only by their nonforced consumption of
known infectious tissues. The asymptomatic incubation period in the one
monkey exposed to the virus of kuru was 36 months; that in the two monkeys
exposed to the virus of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease was 23 and 27 months,
respectively; and that in the two monkeys exposed to the virus of scrapie
was 25 and 32 months, respectively. Careful physical examination of the
buccal cavities of all of the monkeys failed to reveal signs or oral
lesions. One additional monkey similarly exposed to kuru has remained
asymptomatic during the 39 months that it has been under observation.

PMID: 6997404


http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=6997404&dopt=Abstract


EVIDENCE OF SCRAPIE IN SHEEP AS A RESULT OF FOOD BORNE EXPOSURE

This is provided by the statistically significant increase in the incidence
of sheep scrape from 1985, as determined from analyses of the submissions
made to VI Centres, and from individual case and flock incident studies.
........



http://www.bseinquiry.gov.uk/files/yb/1994/02/07002001.pdf



AS implied in the Inset 25 we must not _ASSUME_ that
transmission of BSE to other species will invariably
present pathology typical of a scrapie-like disease.

snip...



http://www.bseinquiry.gov.uk/files/yb/1991/01/04004001.pdf



Published online before print October 20, 2005

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 10.1073/pnas.0502296102
Medical Sciences

A newly identified type of scrapie agent can naturally infect sheep with
resistant PrP genotypes

( sheep prion transgenic mice )

Annick Le Dur *, Vincent Béringue *, Olivier Andréoletti , Fabienne Reine *,
Thanh Lan Laï *, Thierry Baron , Bjørn Bratberg ¶, Jean-Luc Vilotte ,
Pierre Sarradin **, Sylvie L. Benestad ¶, and Hubert Laude *
*Virologie Immunologie Moléculaires and Génétique Biochimique et
Cytogénétique, Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique, 78350
Jouy-en-Josas, France; Unité Mixte de Recherche, Institut National de la
Recherche Agronomique-Ecole Nationale Vétérinaire de Toulouse, Interactions
Hôte Agent Pathogène, 31066 Toulouse, France; Agence Française de Sécurité
Sanitaire des Aliments, Unité Agents Transmissibles Non Conventionnels,
69364 Lyon, France; **Pathologie Infectieuse et Immunologie, Institut
National de la Recherche Agronomique, 37380 Nouzilly, France; and
¶Department of Pathology, National Veterinary Institute, 0033 Oslo, Norway


Edited by Stanley B. Prusiner, University of California, San Francisco, CA,
and approved September 12, 2005 (received for review March 21, 2005)

Scrapie in small ruminants belongs to transmissible spongiform
encephalopathies (TSEs), or prion diseases, a family of fatal
neurodegenerative disorders that affect humans and animals and can transmit
within and between species by ingestion or inoculation. Conversion of the
host-encoded prion protein (PrP), normal cellular PrP (PrPc), into a
misfolded form, abnormal PrP (PrPSc), plays a key role in TSE transmission
and pathogenesis. The intensified surveillance of scrapie in the European
Union, together with the improvement of PrPSc detection techniques, has led
to the discovery of a growing number of so-called atypical scrapie cases.
These include clinical Nor98 cases first identified in Norwegian sheep on
the basis of unusual pathological and PrPSc molecular features and "cases"
that produced discordant responses in the rapid tests currently applied to
the large-scale random screening of slaughtered or fallen animals.
Worryingly, a substantial proportion of such cases involved sheep with PrP
genotypes known until now to confer natural resistance to conventional
scrapie. Here we report that both Nor98 and discordant cases, including
three sheep homozygous for the resistant PrPARR allele (A136R154R171),
efficiently transmitted the disease to transgenic mice expressing ovine PrP,
and that they shared unique biological and biochemical features upon
propagation in mice. These observations support the view that a truly
infectious TSE agent, unrecognized until recently, infects sheep and goat
flocks and may have important implications in terms of scrapie control and
public health.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------


Author contributions: H.L. designed research; A.L.D., V.B., O.A., F.R.,
T.L.L., J.-L.V., and H.L. performed research; T.B., B.B., P.S., and S.L.B.
contributed new reagents/analytic tools; V.B., O.A., and H.L. analyzed data;
and H.L. wrote the paper.

A.L.D. and V.B. contributed equally to this work.

To whom correspondence should be addressed.

Hubert Laude, E-mail: laude@jouy.inra.fr

www.pnas.org/cgi/doi/10.1073/pnas.0502296102


http://www.pnas.org/cgi/content/abstract/0502296102v1


Dormont*, and Jean-Philippe Deslys* et al, that The agent responsible
for French iatrogenic growth hormone-linked CJD taken as a control is
very different from vCJD but is similar to that found in one case of
sporadic CJD and one sheep scrapie isolate;



http://www.pnas.org/cgi/content/full/041490898v1


SCRAPIE UPDATE USA AS OF MARCH 2007 NOR98 INCLUDED


http://www.aphis.usda.gov/animal_health/animal_diseases/scrapie/downloads/monthly_scrapie_rpt.pps


DECLARATION OF EXTRAORDINARY EMERGENCY BECAUSE OF AN ATYPICAL T.S.E.
> > (PRION DISEASE) OF FOREIGN ORIGIN IN THE UNITED STATES
> >


http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=2000_register&docid=fr20jy00-31



> > DECLARATION OF EXTRAORDINARY EMERGENCY BECAUSE OF AN ATYPICAL T.S.E
> > (PRION DISEASE) OF FOREIGN ORIGIN IN THE UNITED STATES [2]
> >
>


http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=2000_register&docid=fr20jy00-32


>
> > or if those old urls dont work, go here;
> >
> > DECLARATION OF EXTRAORDINARY EMERGENCY BECAUSE OF AN ATYPICAL T.S.E
> > (PRION DISEASE) OF FOREIGN ORIGIN IN THE UNITED STATES
> > - Terry S.
> > Singeltary Sr. 7/20/00 (0)
> >
>
> > [Federal Register: July 20, 2000 (Volume 65, Number 140)] [Notices]
> > [Page 45018] >From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access
> > [wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:fr20jy00-32]
> >
> > -----------------------------------------------------------------------

> >
> > DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
> >
> > Office of the Secretary
> >
> > [Docket No. 00-072-1]
> >
> > Declaration of Extraordinary Emergency Because of an Atypical
> > Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathy (Prion Disease) of Foreign Origin
> >
> > A transmissible spongiform encephalopathy (TSE) (prion disease) of
> > foreign origin has been detected in the United States. It is different
> > from TSE's previously diagnosed in the United States. The TSE was
> > detected in the progeny of imported sheep. The imported sheep and
> > their progeny are under quarantine in Vermont. Transmissible
> > spongiform encephalopathies are degenerative fatal diseases that can
> > affect livestock. TSE's are caused by similar, as yet uncharacterized,
> > agents that usually produce spongiform changes in the brain.
> > Post-mortem analysis has indicated positive results for an atypical
> > TSE of foreign origin in four sheep in Vermont. Because of the
> > potentially serious consequences of allowing the disease to spread to
> > other livestock in the United States, it is necessary to seize and
> > dispose of those flocks of sheep in Vermont that are affected with or
> > exposed to the disease, and their germ plasm. The existence of the
> > atypical TSE of foreign origin represents a threat to U.S. livestock.
> > It constitutes a real danger to the national economy and a potential
> > serious burden on interstate and foreign commerce. The Department has
> > reviewed the measures being taken by Vermont to quarantine and
> > regulate the flocks in question and has consulted with appropriate
> > officials in the State of Vermont. Based on such review and
> > consultation, the Department has determined that Vermont does not have
> > the funds to compensate flock owners for the seizure and disposal of
> > flocks affected with or exposed to the disease, and their germ plasm.
> > Without such funds, it will be unlikely to achieve expeditious
> > disposal of the flocks and germ plasm. Therefore, the Department has
> > determined that an extraordinary emergency exists because of the
> > existence of the atypical TSE in Vermont. This declaration of
> > extraordinary emergency authorizes the Secretary to seize, quarantine,
> > and dispose of, in such manner as he deems necessary, any animals that
> > he finds are affected with or exposed to the disease in question, and
> > their germ plasm, and otherwise to carry out the provisions and
> > purposes of the Act of July 2, 1962 (21 U.S.C. 134-134h). The State of
> > Vermont has been informed of these facts.
> >
> > Dated: This declaration of extraordinary emergency shall become
> > effective July 14, 2000. Dan Glickman, Secretary of Agriculture. [FR
> > Doc. 00-18367 Filed 7-19-00; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 3410-34-P



http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=2000_register&docid=fr20jy00-32



Terry S. Singeltary Sr.
P.O. Box 42
Bacliff, Texas USA 77518


=========================================



Subject: Re: FOIA REQUEST FOR ATYPICAL TSE INFORMATION ON VERMONT SHEEPDate: July 10, 2007 at 1:14 pm PST
Greetings,
latest response to my FOIA request about those mad sheep from mad river valley is simply unbelievable and inexcusable ;
================================
USDA
JULY 3, 2007
Terry S. Singeltary Sr.P.O. Box 42Bacliff, Texas USA 77518
Dear Mr. Singeltary:
This is in response to your March 15, 2007, Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request for records related to bio-assays of sheep imported from Belgium. Your request was received in this office on March 27, 2007, and assigned case number FOIA 07-566. We apologize for the delay of this response.
For your information, the FOIA is designed to allow the public access to agency records, not to answer questions. After consulting with agency staff, we were informed up to two years is required for a final result on the bio-assay. Therefore, we did not locate any records responsive to your request. You may appeal our no records determination. If you choose to appeal, your appeal must be in writing and must be sent within 45 days of the date of this letter to:
snip...
To assist the Administrator in reviewing your appeal, provide specific reasons why you believe modification of the determination is warranted.
If you have any questions, please contact..............
Sincerely
Cheri A. OswaltActing DirectorFreedom of Information $ Privacy Act StaffLegislative and Public Affairs
=========================
> After consulting with agency staff, we were informed up to two years is required for a final result on the bio-assay.
> Therefore, we did not locate any records responsive to your request.
Unbelievable !
OVER 3 years ago, on May 20, 2004, I was told ;
> --- Original Message --->>> Subject: Re: hello Dr. Sutton.question please.scrapie.TSS> Date: Thu, 20 May 2004 14:36:09 -0400> From: Jim.D.Rogers@aphis.usda.gov> To: flounder@wt.net>> Dear Mr. Singeltary,>> The Western blot tests on these animals were completed in April of this> year. That means that we can begin the mouse inoculations. To get the> results of the Western blot tests, you will need to submit a Freedom of> Information Act request through our FOIA office. The FAX number there is> 301-734-5941.>> Have a nice day,>> Jim Rogers> APHIS LPA
=========================================================
OVER 5 YEARS AGO WE WERE ALL TOLD THIS ;
>> Imported>> Belgium/Netherlands>> Sheep Test Results>> Background>> Factsheet>> Veterinary Services April 2002>> APHIS>>>> snip...>>> Additional tests will be conducted to determine>> exactly what TSE the animals haveBSE or scrapie.>> These tests involve the use of bioassays that consist>> of injecting mice with tissue from the infected animals>> and waiting for them to develop disease. This testing>> may take at least 2 to 3 years to complete.>>>> http://www.aphis.usda.gov/lpa/pubs/fsheet_faq_notice/fs_ahvtsheeptr.pdf
=====================================================
NOT to forget the 'atypical' VERMONT USA' sheep scrapie/BSE/TSE?back in 2000 with the testing conveniently ignored and put off once again with animal TSEs. Why I ask?
SCRAPIE ''ATYPICAL'' TSE IN SHEEP VERMONT UPDATE 2004
Greetings,
IN the year 2000, some sheep in Vermont were confiscated due to whatthe USDA/APHIS said was an 'atypical TSE'.
WE were told there would be additional testing to confirm exactly whatTSE we were dealing with;
Release No. 0141.02
Ed Curlett (301) 734-3256Jerry Redding (202) 720-6959
TESTING TO CONTINUE ON IMPORTED SHEEP CONFISCATED LAST YEAR
WASHINGTON, April 11, 2002 -- The U.S. Department of Agriculture today announced that tests conducted on a flock of sheep confiscated last year from a farm in Vermont confirm that two of the 125 sheep tested positive for an atypical undifferentiated transmissible spongiform encephalopathy (TSE) of foreign origin. The flock of 125 sheep was confiscated in March 2001 after four animals from an associated flock tested positive for TSE in July 2000. USDA will continue to conduct additional tests to determine the type of TSE in these sheep.
"These results confirm our previous conclusions were correct and that we took the appropriate preventative actions in confiscating these animals," said Bobby Acord, administrator of USDAs Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service. "USDAs actions to confiscate, sample and destroy these sheep were on target. As a result of our vigilance, none of these confiscated animals entered the animal or human food supply."
The sheep, imported from Belgium and the Netherlands in 1996, were placed under certain federal restrictions when they entered the country as part of USDA's scrapie control efforts. In 1998, USDA learned that it was likely that sheep from Europe were exposed to feed contaminated with bovine spongiform encephalopathy. At that time, the state of Vermont, at the request of USDA, imposed a quarantine on these flocks, which prohibited slaughter or sale for breeding purposes.
On July 10, 2000, several sheep from the flock tested positive for a TSE, a class of degenerative neurological diseases that is characterized by a very long incubation period and a 100 percent mortality rate in infected sheep. Two of the better known varieties of TSE are scrapie in sheep and BSE in cattle. There is no evidence that scrapie poses a risk to human health.
On July 14, 2000, USDA issued a declaration of extraordinary emergency to acquire the sheep. This action was contested by the flock owners. A federal district court judge ruled in favor of USDA based on the merits of the case. The flock owners appealed to the Second Circuit Court requesting a stay, which was denied. The sheep were confiscated by USDA in March 2001 and transported to USDA's National Veterinary Services Laboratories in Ames, Iowa, where they were humanely euthanized. Tissue samples were collected from the sheep for diagnostic testing and USDA will continue with additional tests which could take up to 2 - 3 years to complete. In all, USDA has acquired 380 sheep from a total of three flocks. All of the animals were humanely euthanized, sampled and disposed and did not enter the animal or human food supply.
Our goal continues to be to prevent, detect and eradicate foreign animal diseases to protect American agriculture, natural resources and consumers," said Acord. "We will continue to utilize the scientific results of these and other tests conducted during the last several years to strengthen our extensive surveillance, monitoring and prevention efforts."
For more information about USDAs ongoing surveillance, monitoring and prevention efforts as it relates to this situation, please visit www.aphis.usda.gov/oa/tse/index.html
#
NOW, June 2004 those same test that we were told would start in2002, have yet to be started. THE TSE those VERMONT sheepwas supposedly to have had, has yet to be confirmed.
WHY?
===============================================
snip...
you would have thought that this would have been at the top of someone'spriority list. However, it does not look that way.
I ask again, WHY?
I wish to submit the following;
-------- Original Message --------Subject: Re: AW: [BSE-L] USDA did not test possible mad cows - Dr. Detwiler, what about those sheep?Date: Sun, 13 Jun 2004 11:27:24 -0500From: "Terry S. Singeltary Sr." Reply-To: Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy To: BSE-L@uni-karlsruhe.deReferences: <13.2d20eaae.2df84fb9@aol.com> <40c8c7a0.1080107@wt.net>
######## Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy #########
Greetings list members,
Thought I should let the list know that Dr. Detwiler kindly replied to myquestion about the delayed 'atypical' TSE testing in the Vermont sheep andtried to explain what caused the delay. If I interpreted it correctly,seems it was the fault of the U.K. ;
-------- Original Message --------Subject: SheepDate: Sat, 12 Jun 2004 14:26:04 EDTFrom: LAVET22@aol.comTo: flounder@wt.net
Mr. Singeltary.
I hope this finds you well. As you are aware I left the USDA lastyear. I can only update you on the sheep before that time. Contact wasestablished with the UK on doing the bioassay studies. They agreed.However, we were prioritized after their own needs, hence the delay. Iam aware that there are now additional labs in Europe running the mousebioassay strain typing. You will have to contact USDA for further word.
Linda Detwiler=========
My reply to Dr. Detwiler;
-------- Original Message --------Subject: Re: SheepDate: Sat, 12 Jun 2004 13:53:57 -0500From: "Terry S. Singeltary Sr." To: LAVET22@aol.comReferences: <54.2bd2ac1e.2dfca4bc@aol.com>
hello Dr. Detwiler,
thanks for your kind reply.
> However, we were prioritized after their own needs, hence the delay.
not sure i understand that?
> You will have to contact USDA for further word.
already done that, and there answer was;
>5/20/04>
>Dear Mr. Singeltary,>>The Western blot tests on these animals were completed in April of this>year. That means that we can begin the mouse inoculations. To get the>results of the Western blot tests, you will need to submit a Freedom of>Information Act request through our FOIA office. The FAX number there is>301-734-5941.>>Have a nice day,>>Jim Rogers>APHIS LPA>
and with my previous attempts for information via the FOIA throughthis administration (as you are probably very well aware of) they haveall been ignored/refused. so any further attempts would be fruitless i amsure.
thanks anyway...
kindest regards,Terry
LAVET22@aol.com wrote:
> Mr. Singeltary.
snip...
TSS
Terry S. Singeltary Sr. wrote:
> ######## Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy > #########>> Greetings Dr. Detwiler,>> glad to see you are still with us, you had become very silent lately.> hope you are enjoying semi retirement.>> recently, i inquired through the BSE-L and via USDA official about> those Vermont sheep via belgium which there was an Extraordinary> Declaration of Emergency declared here in the USA due to> atypical scrapie. The thread is;>> Confiscation of Sheep in Vermont and testing results ? Thu, 20 May 2004> 12:10:03 -0500 "Terry S. Singeltary Sr." Bovine> Spongiform Encephalopathy BSE-L>>>>> Imported>> Belgium/Netherlands>> Sheep Test Results>> Background>> Factsheet>> Veterinary Services April 2002>> APHIS>>>> snip...>>> Additional tests will be conducted to determine>> exactly what TSE the animals haveBSE or scrapie.>> These tests involve the use of bioassays that consist>> of injecting mice with tissue from the infected animals>> and waiting for them to develop disease. This testing>> may take at least 2 to 3 years to complete.>>>> http://www.aphis.usda.gov/lpa/pubs/fsheet_faq_notice/fs_ahvtsheeptr.pdf
snip...full text ;
https://web01.aphis.usda.gov/regpublic.nsf/0/eff9eff1f7c5cf2b87256ecf000df08d?OpenDocument
i'm still waiting, and apparently I am not the only one ;
Date: Wed, 4 Jul 2007 10:03:09 -0500Reply-To: Sustainable Agriculture Network Discussion GroupSubject: Agencies slow in responding to FOIA requests
http://lists.ifas.ufl.edu/cgi-bin/wa.exe?A2=ind0707&L=sanet-mg&T=0&P=2679
TSS/July, 10, 2007===============
----- Original Message ----- From: "Terry S. Singeltary Sr." To: Sent: Monday, April 02, 2007 2:37 PMSubject: Re: FOIA REQUEST FOR ATYPICAL TSE INFORMATION ON VERMONT SHEEP
Greetings BSE-L Members,
I thought I might update you on the latest BSeee from USDA on my endlessattempts to find the truth as to what those mad sheep of mad river valleyreally had, either typical scrapie, atypical scrapie, BSE, and or nothing.My endeavors to get this information via FOIA and through every other avenuehas failed it seems. YOU will see in this latest letter from the USDA, thestalling continues. This latest letter says that the USDA will not be ableto comply with the twenty-working-day time limit, as well they will not beable to comply with the ten additional days provided by the statute. This 20day thing, and the additional 10 days thing to comply by any statute is ahoot to say the least. I have been waiting to get this data for almost 4+years, only to be turned down at every corner. seems to be just another in along line of cover ups on TSE in the USA. ALSO, the USDA does not seem to besure even if they can request a waiver fee I made due to my disability andfinancial situation from that. all in all, seems to be the same old BSeee. Ionly ponder if this recent discovery of the first case of atypical scrapiein the USA (NOR98), and the announcement of that, has anything to do withthe delay in my FOIA request on mad sheep of mad river valley ???
Lot of things to ponder here, as the question I raised below also, why thequarantine of land for 4 to 5 years and slaughter of all the Faillacesanimals, but yet we have heard nothing about this with this recent NOR98case ??? AS with the atypical TSE in the Tejas bovine and the Alabamabovine, why no quarantine of land and slaughter of animals there ??? Manythings about this case has been very disturbing from the start of this mess.I will post the additional letters below (have to print, scanner shot, andcomputer is about loaded up), but on my end around Johanns et al, I did gothrough the OIG with all this too, and I will post that letter I recieved aswell. Then some links to all this from way back, for anyone interested. ...
IF you remember correctly, my latest letter requesting this information wentout to ;
----- Original Message ----- From: Terry S. Singeltary Sr.To: Boyd.Rutherford@usda.govSent: Sunday, February 25, 2007 1:35 PMSubject: FOIA REQUEST FOR ATYPICAL TSE INFORMATION ON VERMONT SHEEP
Greetings USDA,
I respectfully request the final results of the mouse bio-assays test thatwere to have supposedly began 2+ years late, 5 years ago, on the importedsheep from Belgium ?
WHAT happened to the test results and MOUSE BIO-ASSAYS of those importedsheep from Belgium that were confiscated and slaughtered from theFaillace's, what sort of TSE did these animals have ?
WERE they atypical scrapie, BSE, and or typical scrapie ?
HOW much longer will you refuse to give us this information ? and for whatreason ?
WHY is it that the Farm of the Mad Sheep of Mad River Valley werequarantined for 5 years, but none of these farms from Texas and Alabama withAtypical TSE in the Bovine, they have not been quarantined for 5 years, whynot, with the real risk of BSE to sheep, whom is to say this was not BSE ?
snip.
full text ;
http://www.fsis.usda.gov/OPPDE/Comments/2006-0011/2006-0011-1.pdf
https://web01.aphis.usda.gov/regpublic.nsf/168556f5aa7a82ba85256ed00044eb1f/eff9eff1f7c5cf2b87256ecf000df08d?OpenDocument
FURTHERMORE, I respectfully request up front, that any fees for this FOIA bewavered due to the fact this information should be free to the public and isin the best interest for the public to have these final results, nofinancial gain from this FOIA information is to be made either. ...
Thank You,
kind regards,
Terry S. Singeltary Sr.P.O. Box 42Bacliff, Texas USA 77518
snip...full text is at bottom of this email.
==============================
THEN, when i figured they were going to ignore me again, I sent this to theOIG and the Honorable Phyllis Fong ;
----- Original Message ----- From: Terry S. Singeltary Sr.To: FOIASTAFF@oig.usda.govCc: Phyllis.Fong@usda.govSent: Thursday, March 01, 2007 3:09 PMSubject: Fw: FOIA REQUEST FOR ATYPICAL TSE INFORMATION ON VERMONT SHEEP
Dear O.I.G. F.O.I.A.,
A kind greetings from Texas.
Maybe you can help me out. I have tried relentlessly to find out the finalresults of the TSE Mouse-bioassays of those Atypical TSE in the Vermontsheep where there was a Declaration of Emergency announced. I have beenunable to get any answer on those test and cannot figure out why not. OH, ihave my guess on what they were.but my guess is not good enough.
Could you please help find out for me ??? please see emails below on thismatter.
many thanks, and keep up the good work in regards to trying to police theUSDA/FSIS/APHIS et al on TSE.it's indeed a full time job. ...
with kindest regards,
I am sincerely,
Terry S. Singeltary Sr.P.O. Box 42Bacliff, Texas USA 77518
snip...end
=============================
LOW and behold, the OIG responds March 7, 2007 ;
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTUREOFFICE OF INSPECTOR GENERAL1400 INDEPENDENCE AVE., SW, MAIL STOP 2308WASHINGTON, D.C. 20250
DATE: MARCH 7, 2007
TO: Terry SingeltaryP.O. Box 42Bacliff, Texas 77518
Your request has been received. For your information, this office currentlyhas a considerable backlog of requests for information, which we manage inaccordance with USDA's Regulations and Department of Justice Freedom ofInformation Act (FOIA) policy. The FOIA Staff processes requests on afirst-in, first-out basis using ''multitracks.'' There are four tracks: anexpedited track if the request involves a matter of imminent threat to life;a simple track for relatively simple requests; a complex track for morecomplex and lengthy requests; and a remanded track, when a FOIA appeal isgranted. Please be assured that your request will be categorized andprocessed in turn.
Should you have questions, you may call the FOIA staff at (202) 720-5677 andrefer to Log. No. 07-00060.
FOIA/PA StaffLegal Staff
==============================
THEN, LOW and behold, on March 15, 2007, I finally receive acknowledgementfrom USDA on this matter (i.e. Fong syndrome takes effect again) ;
USDA
March 15, 2007
Mr. Terry S. SingeltaryP.O. Box 42Bacliff, TX 77518
Dear Mr. Singeltary,
This letter acknowledges receipt by the USDA Freedom of Information ActService Center of your FOIA request dated February 25, 2007, for recordsrelated to bio-assays of sheep imported from Belgium. Your request has beenreferred to the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) forprocessing.
You will receive a response directly from APHIS.
Contact the APHIS FOIA Service Center at 301-734-5267 regarding any questionon the status of your request.
Sincerely,
Rita MorganActing USDA Freedom of Information Act OfficerAdministration
==============================
NOW, with reality setting in, I receive this letter from USDA on March 28,2007 ;
USDA
March 28, 2007
Terry S. Singeltary, Sr.P.O. Box 42Bacliff, TX 77518
Re: FOIA 07-566
Dear Mr. Singeltary:
This is to acknowledge receipt of your letter dated March 15, 2007, whichwas received in this Office on March 27, 2007, in which you requestedatypical TSE information on Vermont Sheep.
The records you seek are maintained outside of this Office and we have notyet been able to complete a search to determine whether there are recordswithin the scope of your request. Additionally, all Freedom of InformationAct (FOIA) requests are processed on a ''first-in, first-out'' basis,according to track. Due to the large number of FOIA requests our Agency hasbeen receiving, we have a considerable backlog, and unfortunately a numberof requests still remain in the queue (TRASH...TSS). Accordingly, we will beUNABLE TO COMPLY with the twenty-working-day time limit in THIS CASE, aswell AS THE TEN ADDITIONAL DAYS provided by the statute (and is anyonesurprised by this from this administration, i'm not. ...TSS). Please beadvised; however, responding to all FOIA requests as promptly as possible isa high priority for out Agency. (not...tss)
We have not yet made a decision on your request for a fee waiver. We will doso after we determine whether fees will be assessed for this request.
I regret the necessity of this delay, but I assure you that your requestwill be processed as soon as possible. If you have any questions or wish todiscuss reformulation or an alternative time frame for processing of yourrequest, you may contact me at (301-734-3755).
Sincerely,
Celeste CampProgram Specialist
APHIS Safeguarding American Agriculture
==============================
News FocusINFECTIOUS DISEASES:Is the U.S. Doing Enough to Prevent Mad Cow Disease?Martin Enserink
U.S. officials say they're taking every reasonable step to keep mad cowdisease out. But critics still see chinks in the country's armorOn a cold spring morning, when the hills in East Warren, Vermont, werecovered with a fresh pack of snow, the Faillace family lost its livelihood.It happened in a government action that--if you hear Larry Faillace recountit--was every bit as dramatic as the one that wrenched Elián González fromhis Miami relatives last year. At 5:30 a.m. on 23 March, says Faillace,armed federal agents in flak jackets entered the family farm and ordered histhree children to stop feeding the sheep. Shortly after, an enormous truckpulled up, and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) agents began loadingall of the Faillaces' 126 sheep. A few hours later, the truck was gone,leaving the family, the town, and several dozen protesters behind in angerand shock.The early morning raid is perhaps the most dramatic example of the U.S.government's efforts to keep "mad cow disease," or bovine spongiformencephalopathy (BSE), out of the country. USDA suspected that the sheep,which the Faillaces had imported from Belgium and the Netherlands in 1996,were infected with a sheep version of BSE. So they took no chances: Theentire herd was destroyed days after the animals were seized.
To prevent a BSE outbreak, USDA, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), theU.S. Customs Service, and other government agencies have put in place a longlist of safeguards--from barricading the borders to analyzing brains ofpeople suspected of having died from the human form of mad cow disease,called variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD). Yet public interest groupsand others have long argued that the government's response has been toolittle, too late. Because of this lax response, the critics say, the diseasemay well be among us. And if it is, the government is not vigilant enough todetect it, they warn, nor tough enough on the meat industry to keep it outof the human food chain.
Government agencies say they've taken "aggressive" measures to prevent thedisease, and many scientists agree. They admit that the precautions are notfailsafe and that the disease could emerge in the country--but say the riskis vanishingly small. Even so, the concerns are reverberating on CapitolHill, where House and Senate committees have summoned officials to discussthe risks. Senator Richard Durbin (D-IL) announced recently that he willintroduce a bill that would beef up border inspections and other controls tokeep BSE out of the food chain.
But underlying the argument is a broader question: How much prevention isenough? Scientists point out that the U.S. defense against BSE consists ofmultiple tiers, each of which would have to break down for an outbreak tooccur. Although the risk could be reduced further, the necessary controlmeasures would become increasingly costly and draconian. "You don't gospending half the budget to reduce the risk to zero," says Paul Brown, asenior scientist at the National Institute of Neurological Disorders andStroke (NINDS) in Bethesda, Maryland, "especially in view of much moreserious public health problems that afflict us."
Multitiered containmentBSE is one of the so-called transmissible spongiform encephalopathies(TSEs), a mysterious class of fatal brain diseases. Scientists are stilldebating their etiology, but the leading theory is that they're caused byabnormal forms of proteins, called prions. Several TSEs have the scaryability to jump the species barrier; in Britain, for instance, 99 people areknown to have died or are presumed to be dying of vCJD, most likelycontracted after eating meat products from infected cattle. Epidemiologistsexpect more cases in the United Kingdom, but they're not sure how many;there could be tens of thousands.
In the United States, the first line of defense is to block entry of the BSEagent, and most people agree that the government has been thorough. As earlyas 1989, USDA banned the importation of all ruminants (cattle, goats, andsheep) and many animal products from the United Kingdom and other countrieswith BSE. In 1997, when BSE cases started showing up in several othercountries, that ban was extended to all of Europe. The 500 or so animalsthat were imported from those countries before 1997--such as the Vermontsheep--have almost all been quarantined or purchased and killed.
But closed borders offer no guarantees. Researchers still don't know how BSEarose in Britain, but whatever the process, it could happen here, too. Oneprominent theory is that the agent that causes scrapie, a TSE in sheep,crossed the species barrier and ignited the cattle epidemic inBritain--specifically, when cattle were fed meal that contained infectedsheep tissue. That practice is now banned in the United States, making sucha scenario unlikely.
But BSE could also arise out of nowhere. Each year about one in everymillion humans worldwide gets CJD spontaneously, and it's possible that thesame happens in cattle--or indeed all mammals. Last year a U.K. panelchaired by Lord Andrew Phillips supported the theory that such a "sporadic"case may have started the British outbreak.
Work by Richard Marsh, a veterinary virologist at the University ofWisconsin, Madison, who died in 1997, suggests that sporadic cases of acattle TSE may have already arisen in the United States. Five times between1947 and 1985, a disease called transmissible mink encephalopathy decimatedpopulations on U.S. mink farms. After investigating the last outbreak, Marshconcluded that cow carcasses fed to the mink were the most likely source ofthe disease agent. He speculated that at least one of the cows must have hada TSE.
Another potential source of BSE is a homegrown prion disease that afflictsdeer and elk. Conceivably, this ailment, called chronic wasting disease,could jump to cattle or sicken people who eat infected venison (seesidebar).
But would anybody have noticed if the United States had a couple of cases ofBSE? Probably not, say some critics. USDA now tests some 50 suspect cows aweek. The test program pales in comparison to the massive effort startedlast year in the European Union, where every cow over 30 months old istested after slaughtering. The United States should do something similar,says Thomas Pringle, a molecular biologist with the Sperling BiomedicalFoundation in Eugene, Oregon, who maintains a Web site about BSE. "You cantry all these containment measures, but at the end of the day the questionis: How much BSE do you have?" he says. "The way to find out is to runhundreds of thousands of tests."
Testing at that level would be silly, replies Linda Detwiler, a senior staffveterinarian at the USDA, because BSE has never been found in the country.Even so, she says, this year the agency will double the number of tests itperforms.
Cows eating cowsEven if a cow got BSE and it went undetected, that wouldn't spell doom forthe rest of the nation's livestock. The only plausible way for an outbreakto occur would be if that cow were fed to other cows, thereby passing on theinfectious agent. For decades, cows did eat other cows, when they were fedmeat-and-bone meal, a protein concoction produced by milling and boiling (or"rendering") the carcasses of, say, sick farm animals, road kill, and deadpets. The epidemic in Britain is believed to have been fueled after infectedcattle were recycled on a large scale.
But this route is now cut off in the United States, at least in theory: FDAbanned feeding most mammalian protein to all ruminants in 1997. Those sameproteins can still be fed to pigs and poultry, however, so FDA has orderedrendering plants and feed mills to prevent commingling of the two types offeed. Enforcing this separation has proven difficult, however. A March 2001FDA inspection report showed that about one in seven feed mills andrendering plants didn't have adequate procedures to prevent commingling;many haven't been inspected yet.
Indeed, Purina Mills in Texas discovered in January that a new employee hadmistakenly let cattle protein slip into a batch of cow feed. After 1222animals that had been given the suspect feed were quarantined, Purina paidfor the entire herd to be destroyed. "Who knows how many other cases havebeen swept under the rug?" asks Peter Lurie, a researcher at Public Citizen,a consumer watchdog group in Washington, D.C., and a member of FDA'sadvisory committee on TSEs. Lurie would like to see the FDA get much tougheron the feed industry.
Although that may not be a bad idea, others say, the current situation ishardly a recipe for disaster. Suppose a BSE-infected animal did end up incattle feed, says NINDS's Brown, and a few cows became infected and went tothe slaughterhouse undiagnosed. For the outbreak to continue, they wouldhave to be rendered themselves and mistakenly turned into cattle feed again."A regulatory breakdown of this magnitude is virtually impossible," Brownwrote recently in Emerging Infectious Diseases. Similarly, Will Hueston, aveterinary epidemiologist at the University of Maryland, College Park, saysthe risk of even a single case of BSE is "pretty darn small."
The chance that humans might get vCJD from eating infected cattle is evensmaller. But here, too, critics see loopholes that they would like closed.European countries now require brains and spinal cords to be removed from acarcass directly after slaughter; no such safeguard exists in the UnitedStates.
Another route of infection could come from the local health food store. In1994, Congress deregulated dietary supplements. Many of these contain animalparts-- including brain tissue. Although the FDA has asked manufacturers notto use such materials from countries known to have BSE, it can't ensure thatno cow brains make it in, says Lurie. Supplements are a problem as long asFDA lacks jurisdiction over them, agrees Brown, who chaired FDA's advisorypanel on TSEs until last January.
PRION DISEASES FOUND IN THE U.S.Scrapie. First case diagnosed in 1947; now 40 to 60 infected sheep farms arereported per year.Chronic wasting disease (CWD). Afflicts wild deer and elk in Colorado,Wyoming, and Nebraska; also found on elk farms in other states and inCanada.Transmissible mink encephalopathy (TME). Five outbreaks reported at minkfarms in Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Idaho between 1947 and 1985.Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD). An estimated 250 to 300 cases per year;about 85% "sporadic," 15% genetic.Gerstmann-Sträussler-Scheinker disease and fatal familial insomnia. Twoextremely rare genetic human diseases.NOT FOUND IN THE U.S.Bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), or "mad cow disease"Variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD), the human form of BSE
How much is enough?In the end, nobody disputes that more can be done to prevent BSE; thequestion is how much the country is willing to invest. For instance, banningthe use of all animal proteins in livestock feed would all but eliminate anyrisk, says Brown. But it would be the end of the $2.5 billion renderingindustry, and it might make meat more expensive, he says.
In his recent commentary, Brown summed up seven holes in the safety net thatcritics are sure to pounce on if a BSE case were ever to occur. Even so,Brown thinks the current safeguards earn "high marks." Rather than closingeach and every hole, he suggests that the money could be better spent onother public health issues, such as diabetes, hypertension, or caraccidents.
George Gray, a risk analyst at Harvard School of Public Health in Boston,agrees. "Every bit of attention and effort we put into [BSE] takes away fromsomething else," says Gray. "And I think there are considerably bigger risksout there in the food supply." An estimated 5000 people a year die frommicrobial contamination in food alone--many more than would be harmed by BSEin any plausible scenario, he asserts. At USDA's request, Gray is studyingthe risks of BSE and related diseases in the United States. The study, whichwill guide future policy, will be presented to the agency within the next 2months.
Lurie dismisses such comparisons. "By that argument, we should not worryabout microbial contamination because many more people die from cancer," hesays. Although the risk may be low, he says, the worst-case scenario wouldhave such disastrous public health and economic consequences that extremecaution is warranted.
That's the argument that led USDA to kill the Faillaces' sheep and anothernearby flock, says Detwiler. Tests carried out last year on four slaughteredanimals showed signs of a BSE-like disease, although it wasn't clear whetherit was scrapie or a sheep version of BSE. Sheep have been infected with BSEin the lab, but no natural cases have been found in the world. If theVermont sheep did have a form of BSE, they would be the first. Better to erron the side of caution, says Detwiler, than for the United States to havethat dubious honor.
The Faillaces, who fought the seizure in a long legal battle, claim thesheep were healthy and the tests were sloppy. Additional tests of theFaillaces' sheep are now being performed at the National Animal Diseasecenter in Ames, Iowa. The results, says Detwiler, will be available in a fewmonths--about the time that Gray's risk assessment is due.
http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/292/5522/1639
Dr. Tom Pringle, founder, Sperling Foundation"[Mad Sheep] shows how far a corrupt government agency will go to protectindustry. This is a truly Kafkaesque story."
http://www.amazon.com/Mad-Sheep-Story-Behind-Family/dp/1933392096
Mad SheepThe True Story Behind the USDA’s War on a Family FarmLinda FaillaceThe page-turning account of a government cover-up, corporate greed, and acourageous family’s fight to save their farm.http://www.chelseagreen.com/2006/items/madsheepgot to read this months ago, and it is deeply disturbing how the fedshandled this from the very beginning, and to this day we do not know theresults of the mouse bio-assays, and what those sheep actually had. i don'tnecessarily agree with the TSE science in this book, but the book is a mustread if your interested at all in human and animal TSEs. ...TSSSubmitted by flounder on Thu, 09/07/2006 - 9:43pm.
http://vtcommons.org/node/568
FULL TEXT AND THREAD BETWEEN TSS, MAFF, USDA AND DR. DETWILER HERE ;
https://web01.aphis.usda.gov/regpublic.nsf/168556f5aa7a82ba85256ed00044eb1f/eff9eff1f7c5cf2b87256ecf000df08d?
OpenDocument
7. WHY is it that the Farm of the Mad Sheep of Mad River Valley werequarantined for 5 years, but none of these
farms from Texas and Alabama with Atypical TSE in the Bovine, they have notbeen quarantined for 5 years, why
not, with the real risk of BSE to sheep, whom is to say this was not BSE ?
snip...
full text ;
http://www.fsis.usda.gov/OPPDE/Comments/2006-0011/2006-0011-1.pdf
NOW the Faillaces' claim there sheep were disease free ;
When Linda Faillace sat down to write a memoir about the events in 2001 thatled to the federal seizure of her family’s sheep, she wasn’t motivated byfame or fortune. Her impetus was purely personal.
“Basically, Larry (my husband) had said I’d gotten too difficult to livewith,” Faillace recalled. “He said, ‘You really gotta do something.’”
So she set to work putting their story on paper, as much for her own peaceof mind as for posterity. And now, just five years after the USDA forciblyremoved the couple’s 125 sheep on their 90-acre homestead in East Warren,Faillace has a book in hand that details the family’s struggle for answers.
In “Mad Sheep,” Faillace writes that they still don’t know why their flockwas targeted by the USDA for testing for the rare brain-wasting diseaseknown as transmissible spongiform encephalopathy. Since the seizure andsubsequent liquidation of the flock at a laboratory in Ames, Iowa,government scientists have determined that none of the sheep had TSE, acondition related to mad cow disease. The Faillaces meanwhile, lost all hopeof fulfilling their dream of sheep farming and producing artisanalsheep-milk cheese.-Times Argus
http://nonais.org/index.php/2006/09/25/fallice-sheep-disease-free/
some history here ;
Subject: Re: CONFUSIOUS ASKS, WHY were the Faillaces of mad river valley andthere farm quarantined for 5 years ...Date: July 3, 2006 at 9:23 am PST
In Reply to: CONFUSIOUS ASKS, WHY were the Faillaces of mad river valley andthere farm quarantined for 5 years ... posted by TSS on June 28, 2006 at11:16 am:
##################### Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy #####################
Greetings,
there are over 20 documented strains of typical scrapie to date. however, weare talking atypical TSE of foreign origin is what the declaration ofextraordinary emergency was ordered for. if it was just regular scrapie,then why not all other scrapie infected farms, why were they not treated thesame way, scrapie is and has been out of control in the USA for decades,it's rampant? if it was atypical TSE in either cattle or sheep, they do notknow SRMs and or horizontal/vertical transmissions. if it were BSE, then whythe fuss of vertical and lateral transmission? so again, were not talkingregular scrapie with those sheep, and were not talking regular BSE with themad cows in Alabama and Texas. so confusious is confused still. why not thesame treatment$ ...tss
MAD SHEEP OF MAD RIVER VALLEY
THE TRUE STORY BEHIND THE USDA'S WAR ON A FAMILY FARM
LINDA FAILLACE
The video is available as either a Windows Media Player file or QuickTimefile.
View QuickTime clip
View Windows Media Clip
http://www.chelseagreen.com/images/lambslow.mov
http://www.chelseagreen.com/images/lambslow.wmv
http://www.chelseagreen.com/2006/items/madsheep/FilmClip
I have the book transcript, and wept several times through the course ofreading. ITwill blow you away. I was at a crossroads of being mad because of a 'oh mypoor sheep blah blah blah, to what about my poor mom, mentality', toFrancis and Heather and there plight with there animals, heathers remarkabledear leon speech, to francis and his true grit, and honorable strong youngman indeed, to 'what about a farmers rights and how far can the gov gomentality'. i would argue with some parts of the book about atypical TSE andBSE to sheep and the fact i still believe that not only atypical scrapie andor BSE in sheep, but some and or all of the 20+ strains of typical scrapieare transmissible to humans, and the fact in my opinion it was USDA's faultfor ever letting those sheep into the USA in the first place. They knewEurope was infected with BSE. But USDA got caught up in a bunch of lies anddeceit here with the Faillaces'. The testing is very very questionable todate.I guess i might now have my answer as to those infamous 'mouse bio-assays',but the book is remarkable, i received a copy from the publisher. everyonein the world of TSE pro/con needs to read this book. .....TSS
----- Original Message ----- From: "Terry S. Singeltary Sr."To:Sent: Wednesday, June 28, 2006 1:44 PMSubject: Re: DECLARATION OF EXTRAORDINARY EMERGENCY BECAUSE OF AN ATYPICALT.S.E. (PRION DISEASE) OF FOREIGN ORIGIN IN THE UNITED STATES
> ##################### Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy#####################>> Greetings list members,>> confusious is confused again. confusious asks;>> WHY were the Faillaces of mad river valley and there farm quarantined for5> years, all animals slaughtered, and that either the top six inches of> topsoil removed where manure and or compost had been and or multiple> hypochlorite treatments of the surface soil to take place from fear ofthere> sheep having BSE, when none of this takes place for BSE cattle in the USAof> the typical strain and or the atypical strain as in Texas and Alabama???>> SINCE the Texas mad cow and the mad cow in Alabama was atypical BSE, why> then were there no quarantine for 5 years, no removal of top soil, and all> animals were not slaughtered???>> confusious still confused in sunny, hot, Bacliff, Texas. ...TSS>>>> ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Terry S. Singeltary Sr."> To:> Sent: Saturday, June 17, 2006 9:33 PM> Subject: DECLARATION OF EXTRAORDINARY EMERGENCY BECAUSE OF AN ATYPICAL> T.S.E. (PRION DISEASE) OF FOREIGN ORIGIN IN THE UNITED STATES>>> ##################### Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy> #####################>> Subject: DECLARATION OF EXTRAORDINARY EMERGENCY BECAUSE OF AN ATYPICAL> T.S.E. (PRION DISEASE) OF FOREIGN ORIGIN IN THE UNITED STATES> Date: June 17, 2006 at 6:56 pm PST> Greetings list members,>> here i go again. i must bring those mad sheep of mad river valley upagain.> what about those mouse bio-assays? can one of the aphis/usda lurkers onthis> list, can one of them please comment please?> a declaration of emergency was announced ;>>> >> Imported> >> Belgium/Netherlands> >> Sheep Test Results> >> Background> >> Factsheet> >> Veterinary Services April 2002> >> APHIS> >> >> >> > snip...> >> >> Additional tests will be conducted to determine> >> exactly what TSE the animals haveBSE or scrapie.> >> These tests involve the use of bioassays that consist> >> of injecting mice with tissue from the infected animals> >> and waiting for them to develop disease. This testing> >> may take at least 2 to 3 years to complete.> >> >> >> > http://www.aphis.usda.gov/lpa/pubs/fsheet_faq_notice/fs_ahvtsheeptr.pdf>>> >> > DECLARATION OF EXTRAORDINARY EMERGENCY BECAUSE OF AN ATYPICAL T.S.E.> > (PRION DISEASE) OF FOREIGN ORIGIN IN THE UNITED STATES> >> >>http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=2000_register&docid=fr20jy00-31>>>> >> >> > DECLARATION OF EXTRAORDINARY EMERGENCY BECAUSE OF AN ATYPICAL T.S.E> > (PRION DISEASE) OF FOREIGN ORIGIN IN THE UNITED STATES [2]> >> >>http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=2000_register&docid=fr20jy00-32>>>> >> >> > or if those old urls dont work, go here;> >> > DECLARATION OF EXTRAORDINARY EMERGENCY BECAUSE OF AN ATYPICAL T.S.E> > (PRION DISEASE) OF FOREIGN ORIGIN IN THE UNITED STATES> > - Terry S.> > Singeltary Sr. 7/20/00 (0)> >>> > [Federal Register: July 20, 2000 (Volume 65, Number 140)] [Notices]> > [Page 45018] >From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access> > [wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:fr20jy00-32]> >> > -----------------------------------------------------------------------
> >> > DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE> >> > Office of the Secretary> >> > [Docket No. 00-072-1]> >> > Declaration of Extraordinary Emergency Because of an Atypical> > Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathy (Prion Disease) of ForeignOrigin> >> > A transmissible spongiform encephalopathy (TSE) (prion disease) of> > foreign origin has been detected in the United States. It is different> > from TSE's previously diagnosed in the United States. The TSE was> > detected in the progeny of imported sheep. The imported sheep and> > their progeny are under quarantine in Vermont. Transmissible> > spongiform encephalopathies are degenerative fatal diseases that can> > affect livestock. TSE's are caused by similar, as yet uncharacterized,> > agents that usually produce spongiform changes in the brain.> > Post-mortem analysis has indicated positive results for an atypical> > TSE of foreign origin in four sheep in Vermont. Because of the> > potentially serious consequences of allowing the disease to spread to> > other livestock in the United States, it is necessary to seize and> > dispose of those flocks of sheep in Vermont that are affected with or> > exposed to the disease, and their germ plasm. The existence of the> > atypical TSE of foreign origin represents a threat to U.S. livestock.> > It constitutes a real danger to the national economy and a potential> > serious burden on interstate and foreign commerce. The Department has> > reviewed the measures being taken by Vermont to quarantine and> > regulate the flocks in question and has consulted with appropriate> > officials in the State of Vermont. Based on such review and> > consultation, the Department has determined that Vermont does not have> > the funds to compensate flock owners for the seizure and disposal of> > flocks affected with or exposed to the disease, and their germ plasm.> > Without such funds, it will be unlikely to achieve expeditious> > disposal of the flocks and germ plasm. Therefore, the Department has> > determined that an extraordinary emergency exists because of the> > existence of the atypical TSE in Vermont. This declaration of> > extraordinary emergency authorizes the Secretary to seize, quarantine,> > and dispose of, in such manner as he deems necessary, any animals that> > he finds are affected with or exposed to the disease in question, and> > their germ plasm, and otherwise to carry out the provisions and> > purposes of the Act of July 2, 1962 (21 U.S.C. 134-134h). The State of> > Vermont has been informed of these facts.> >> > Dated: This declaration of extraordinary emergency shall become> > effective July 14, 2000. Dan Glickman, Secretary of Agriculture. [FR> > Doc. 00-18367 Filed 7-19-00; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 3410-34-P> >> >>http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=2000_register&docid=fr20jy00-32>> ================================> > [Federal Register: July 20, 2000 (Volume 65, Number 140)] [Notices]> > [Page 45018] >From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access> > [wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:fr20jy00-31]> >> > ========================================================================> > Notices Federal Register> > ________________________________________________________________________> >> > This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains documents other than> > rules or proposed rules that are applicable to the public. Notices of> > hearings and investigations, committee meetings, agency decisions and> > rulings, delegations of authority, filing of petitions and> > applications and agency statements of organization and functions are> > examples of documents appearing in this section.> >> > ========================================================================> >> > [[Page 45018]]> >> > -----------------------------------------------------------------------> >> > DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE> >> > Office of the Secretary> >> > [Docket No. 00-072-2]> >> > Declaration of Emergency Because of an Atypical Transmissible> > Spongiform Encephalopathy (Prion Disease) of Foreign Origin> >> > A transmissible spongiform encephalopathy (TSE) (prion disease) of> > foreign origin has been detected in the United States. It is different> > from TSE's previously diagnosed in the United States. The TSE was> > detected in the progeny of imported sheep. The imported sheep and> > their progeny are under quarantine in Vermont. Transmissible> > spongiform encephalopathies are degenerative fatal diseases that can> > affect livestock. TSE's are caused by similar, as yet uncharacterized,> > agents that usually produce spongiform changes in the brain.> > Post-mortem analysis has indicated positive results for an atypical> > TSE of foreign origin in four sheep in Vermont. Because of the> > potentially serious consequences of allowing the disease to spread to> > other livestock in the United States, it is necessary to seize and> > dispose of those flocks of sheep in Vermont that are affected with or> > exposed to the disease, and their germ plasm. The existence of the> > atypical TSE of foreign origin represents a threat to U.S. livestock.> > It constitutes a real danger to the national economy and a potential> > serious burden on interstate and foreign commerce. APHIS has> > insufficient funds to carry out the seizure and disposal of animals> > and germ plasm necessary to eliminate this disease risk. These funds> > would be used to compensate the owners of the animals and germ plasm> > for their seizure and disposal in accordance with 21 U.S.C. 134a.> > Therefore, in accordance with the provisions of the Act of September> > 25, 1981, as amended (7 U.S.C. 147b), I declare that there is an> > emergency that threatens the livestock industry of this country and> > hereby authorize the transfer and use of such funds as may be> > necessary from appropriations or other funds available to agencies or> > corporations of the United States Department of Agriculture to seize> > and dispose of animals that are affected with or exposed to this TSE,> > and their germplasm, in accordance with 21 U.S.C. 134a.> >> > Dated: This declaration of emergency shall become effective July 14,> > 2000. Dan Glickman, Secretary of Agriculture. [FR Doc. 00-18368 Filed> > 7-19-00; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 3410-34-P>>> >> > I was told that ;> >> >> > -------- Original Message --------> > Subject: Re: hello Dr. Sutton...question please...scrapie...TSS> > Date: Thu, 20 May 2004 14:36:09 -0400> > From: Jim.D.Rogers@aphis.usda.gov> > To: flounder@wt.net>>> snip...>>> FULL TEXT AND THREAD BETWEEN TSS, MAFF, USDA AND DR. DETWILER HERE ;>>>https://web01.aphis.usda.gov/regpublic.nsf/168556f5aa7a82ba85256ed00044eb1f/eff9eff1f7c5cf2b87256ecf000df08d?OpenDocument>>>>> Greetings again BSE-L members,>>> NOW, i cannot for the life of me figure out why we have not heard anything> about those mouse bio-assays of those mad sheep of mad river valley, and> atypical TSE ? i mean hell, there was a DECLARATION OF EXTRAORDINARY> EMERGENCY BECAUSE OF AN ATYPICAL T.S.E (PRION DISEASE) OF FOREIGN ORIGININ> THE UNITED STATES and we never hear of final results, is this not another> case of the TEXAS BSE PROTOCOLS of just never confirming anything unlessthe> GAO gets involved? maybe USDA could comment on this now? or is this toolike> those WMD, just something that never existed? i know Dr. Detwiler is outof> the loop on this now, but there are others here that could answer this> question if they wanted too and or could???>>> QUOTE ;>> 1998>> Dr. Detwiler replied. "There is new research which shows that sheep can> contract BSE" ......"information I can't divulge".....end>>> WHY, after some 7 years, do we still not have any answers ???>> WHERE are those mouse bio-assays ???>> PLEASE look on every shelf, maybe same one that those TEXAS MAD COW tissue> samples were left on for 7+ months before finally confirming after a> Congressional order and or end around, they could be there. ...>>> still disgusted in sunny Bacliff, Texas>> Terry S. Singeltary Sr.>>> FSA 06/06/03 AGENDA 3.1, 15 JUNE 2006>> ATYPICAL SCRAPIE IN SMALL RUMINANTS: CONSIDERATION OF THE>> CURRENT PRECAUTIONARY RISK MANAGEMENT MEASURES>> Executive Summary>> 1. This paper provides information on atypical scrapie (a transmissible> spongiform>> encephalopathy (TSE)) in sheep and goats and the precautionary measures>> currently in place to protect consumers from the possible risks from TSEsin>> these species. There are a great many unknowns about atypical scrapie,>> including the potential implications, if any, for human health.>> 2. It also reports on the views of stakeholders and consumer focus groups> who>> were asked whether, in the light of this uncertainty, additional> precautionary>> measures were needed and for their views on the Agency’s advice on this>> subject.>> 3. The Board is asked to:>> • note that the Agency’s advice has been reworded to take account of the> views>> of stakeholders and the consumer focus groups and will be tested further>> • note that the background information on sheep TSEs on the Agency’swebsite>> will be reviewed>> • note that the agricultural departments are planning to review the Ram>> Genotyping Scheme>> • note that surveillance for atypical scrapie will be maintained in orderto> detect>> any changes in prevalence.>> • agree that the Agency’s advice and recommendations on precautionary>> measures should be kept under review and be brought back to the Board if>> there are significant changes in the understanding of the risk.>> • agree that developments on atypical scrapie be kept under review toenable>> contingency policy to be refined as new information emerges.>> • agree that the Agency should open discussions with the European>> Commission on the issue of the identification of meat from older sheep or>> goats and natural sausage casings made from sheep intestines to enable>> consumer choice.>> 2>> TSE DIVISION>> Contacts:>> Alison Gleadle Tel: 020 7276 8303>> Email: alison.gleadle@foodstandards.gsi.gov.uk>> Irene Hill Tel: 020 7276 8324>> Email: irene.hill@foodstandards.gsi.gov.uk>> 3>> FSA 06/06/03 AGENDA ITEM 3.1, 15 JUNE 2006>> ATYPICAL SCRAPIE IN SHEEP AND GOATS: CONSIDERATION OF THE>> CURRENT PRECAUTIONARY RISK MANAGEMENT MEASURES>> Issue>> 1. To consider whether the Agency should recommend, on the basis ofcurrent>> evidence, that additional precautionary measures are needed to reduce the>> possible risk to consumers from atypical scrapie.......>>> snip...>>> Conclusions>> 27. Atypical scrapie is definitely present in the UK flock, and in the> flocks of other>> Member States (MS), and animals with atypical scrapie have, and will be,>> entering the food supply. However it is not known if this constitutes any> risk to>> human health. Unlike the situation when BSE was first discovered incattle,>> precautionary measures are already in place. Based on the limitedknowledge> of>> the distribution of infectivity in atypical scrapie, the SEAC Subgroup> concluded>> that the SRM requirements that were put in place on a precautionary basis> for>> BSE in sheep may provide at least a similar level of protection againstthe>> possible risk from atypical scrapie.>> 28. The consideration of the proportionality of any additionalprecautionary> measures>> is very difficult when the human health risk is unknown, and, as reportedby>> SEAC, there is insufficient data to carry out a risk assessment.>> 29. Any additional precautionary measures that could be put in place havea> high>> economic cost, are currently highly impractical (see Annex 1 for details)> and>> would impose a cost on industry that would, according to industry> stakeholders,>> be likely to bring into question the economic viability of sheep farming.> ...>>> snip...>>> full text ;>>> http://www.food.gov.uk/multimedia/pdfs/fsa060603.pdf>>>>> FSA 06/06/04 AGENDA ITEM 3.2, 15 JUNE 2006>> BSE AND SHEEP CONTINGENCY POLICY>> Executive Summary>> 1. This paper asks the Board to agree, for purposes of contingencyplanning,> a>> possible approach to a graduated strengthening of measures to protect>> consumers in response to one or more findings of BSE in the current UKsheep>> flock.>> 2. The paper also notes the high level of uncertainty around estimates of> the>> possible risk from BSE in sheep and that, if BSE were ever found in a UK> sheep,>> the estimate of the risk to consumers would depend on the accumulated> results>> of surveillance for BSE in sheep up to that time. It therefore recommends> that the>> policy be kept under review and that any policy agreed now on acontingency>> basis should urgently be reconfirmed taking into account the circumstances> at the>> time of any finding of BSE in a UK sheep.>> 3. The Board is invited to:>> • note that, in the event of confirmation of BSE in a sheep, targeted> testing of>> animals in the affected flock or flocks would be carried out to assist in>> determining the potential spread of the disease and whether it may have>> entered the food supply (paragraph 9).>> • agree that an expert group be set up to advise on what additional> surveillance>> should be put in place, if BSE were to be found in a UK sheep, to improve>> estimates of prevalence of BSE in UK sheep (paragraph 13).>> • agree that, on current knowledge, it would advise the followinggraduated>> response to one or more findings of BSE in the current UK sheep flock:>> • one finding of BSE in sheep - remove additional SRM;>> • two findings of BSE in unrelated flocks - exclude sheep aged over 12>> months from the food supply and remove the additional SRM from the>> remaining sheep;>> • three findings of BSE in unrelated flocks - allow into the food supply> only>> sheep that were either genetically resistant to BSE or semi-resistant and>> aged under 12 months and remove the additional SRM from those sheep>> (paragraph 20).>> 2>> • agree that its contingency policy for a finding of BSE in sheep shouldbe> kept>> under review and be urgently reconfirmed should BSE actually be found in a>> UK sheep (paragraph 22).>> • comment on the outline handling plan at Annex F and the strategy for the>> external communication that would be needed (paragraph 30).>> TSE Division>> Contacts:>> Alison Gleadle Tel: 020 7276 8303 (GTN 7276 8303)>> Email: alison.gleadle@foodstandards.gsi.gov.uk>> David Carruthers Tel: 020 7276 8305 (GTN 7276 8305)>> Email: david.carruthers@foodstandards.gsi.gov.uk>> snip...>>> http://www.food.gov.uk/multimedia/pdfs/fsa060604.pdf>>>>> Subject: REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ON SCRAPIE November 9, 2005 USAHA> Date: February 12, 2006 at 1:03 pm PST>> REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ON SCRAPIE>> Chair: Dr. Jim Logan, Cheyenne, WY>> Vice Chair: Dr. Joe D. Ross, Sonora, TX>> Dr. Deborah L. Brennan, MS; Dr. Beth Carlson, ND; Dr. John R. Clifford,DC;> Dr. Thomas F. Conner, OH; Dr. Walter E. Cook, WY; Dr. Wayne E. Cunningham,> CO; Dr. Jerry W. Diemer, TX; Dr. Anita J. Edmondson, CA; Dr. Dee Ellis,TX;> Dr. Lisa A. Ferguson, MD; Dr. Keith R. Forbes, NY; Dr. R. David Glauer,OH;> Dr. James R. Grady, CO; Dr. William L. Hartmann, MN; Dr. Carolyn Inch,CAN;> Dr. Susan J. Keller, ND; Dr. Allen M. Knowles, TN; Dr. Thomas F. Linfield,> MT; Dr. Michael R. Marshall, UT; Dr. Cheryl A. Miller, In; Dr. Brian V.> Noland, CO; Dr. Charles Palmer, CA; Dr. Kristine R. Petrini, MN; Mr. Stan> Potratz, IA; Mr. Paul E. Rodgers, CO; Dr. Joan D. Rowe, CA; Dr. Pamela L.> Smith, IA; Dr. Diane L. Sutton, MD; Dr. Lynn Anne Tesar, SD; Dr. Delwin D.> Wilmot, NE; Dr. Nora E. Wineland, CO; Dr. Cindy B. Wolf, MN.>> The Committee met on November 9, 2005, from 8:00am until 11:55am, Hershey> Lodge and Convention Center, Hershey, Pennsylvania. The meeting was called> to order by Dr. Jim Logan, chair, with vice chairman Dr. Joe D. Ross> attending. There were 74 people in attendance.>> The Scrapie Program Update was provided by Dr. Diane Sutton, National> Scrapie Program Coordinator, United States Department of Agriculture(USDA),> Animal and Plant Health Inspection Services (APHIS), Veterinary Services> (VS). The complete text of the Status Report is included in these> Proceedings.>> Dr. Patricia Meinhardt, USDA-APHIS-VS-National Veterinary Services> Laboratory (NVSL) gave the Update on Genotyping Labs and Discrepancies in> Results. NVSL conducts investigations into discrepancies on genotypetesting> results associated with the Scrapie Eradication Program. It is the policyof> the Program to conduct a second genotype test at a second laboratory on> certain individual animals. Occasionally, there are discrepancies in those> results. The NVSL conducts follow-up on these situations throughadditional> testing on additional samples from the field and archive samples from the> testing laboratories.>> For the period of time from January 1, 2005, until October 15, 2005, there> were 23 instances of discrepancies in results from 35 flocks. Of those 23> instances, 14 were caused by laboratory error (paperwork or samplemix-up),> 3 results from field error, 5 were not completely resolved, and 1originated> from the use of a non-approved laboratory for the first test. As a resultof> inconsistencies, one laboratory’s certification was revoked by APHIS-VS.>> To reduce/eliminate these problems, the Program has placed additional> quality requirements on the testing laboratories: additional review offinal> reports, additional coding systems for testing operations, strictfollow-up> and reports to NVSL on corrective actions, dual data entry systems, andmore> frequent inspections.>> The Agricultural Research Services (ARS) Scrapie Research Update was given> by Janet Alverson, USDA- ARS. Dr. Alverson reported on the effect of> multiple births and fetal position within the uterus on PrP-Scaccumulation> in fetal cotyledons. Fetal cotyledons of fetuses with>> resistant genotypes can accumulate PrP-Sc when positioned next to a fetusof> susceptible genotype with cotyledons positive for PrP-Sc accumulation.>> Scrapie Surveillance Evaluation Working Group Update was presented byTracey> Lynn, Epidemiologist with the National Surveillance Unit, Center for> Epidemiology and Animal Health (CEAH). The presentation provided a> background on evaluation, a quick review of analyses completed to date by> the scrapie surveillance evaluation working group, and some of the> preliminary findings. The process of surveillance system evaluation is> undertaken to assist a disease control program with identifying possible> improvements to their surveillance system, and includes an assessment ofthe> overall utility of the system, identification of potential gaps incoverage,> and an evaluation of the overall performance of the system. The scrapie> surveillance evaluation working group reviewed the structure and processes> of the scrapie surveillance program, as well as various quality and> effectiveness measures.>> Overall, 98-99% of surveillance samples come from the Regulatory Scrapie> Surveillance System (RSSS), so the RSSS system has been the primary focusof> the evaluation process. The working group developed a flow chartindicating> the flow of sheep through RSSS, which identified potential gaps in> surveillance coverage, including custom kill plants and sheep beingexported> to Mexico. Spatial analyses can assist in identifying areas with high> density sheep populations with lower levels of RSSS sampling.Identification> compliance is being evaluated by reviewing reports from slaughter plantson> the proportion of animals with appropriate identification. Additional> analyses remain, including defining the most appropriate economicanalyses,> and comparing the surveillance system with developing surveillance> standards. The working group hopes to have a draft written report forreview> by the end of the year.>> Giving the Update on Scrapie Diagnostics and Susceptibility was KatherineO’> Roarke, Research Microbiologist, USDA-ARS. "What’s New in Scrapie" -- Biopsy> sampling of the third eyelid or tonsillar lymphoid tissue is a useful live> animal test for scrapie. The biopsy sample is examined for accumulation of> the abnormal prion protein using immunohistochemistry. A joint project> conducted by the Veterinary Laboratory Agencies and the Moredun Institutein> the United Kingdom has developed an alternative technique in which tissueis> collected from the narrow band of lymphoid tissue near the rectal-anal> junction. The morphology of the lymphoid follicles is similar in thetonsil,> retropharyngeal lymph nodes, third eyelid, and rectal-anal mucosal tissue.A> report on more than 300 sheep in the United Kingdom (UK), prepared by Drs.> Lorenzo Gonzalez and Jeffrey Martin, will describe the sensitivity,> specificity, and optimal collection interval for this technique in avariety> of breeds of British sheep. ARS has done a preliminary evaluation of the> technique in US sheep. Samples of third eyelid and rectal-mucosal tissue> were collected from 56 sheep. Forty-two (42) sheep had negative biopsiesat> both sites; most of these sheep have been necropsied and no PrP-d wasfound> in retropharyngeal lymph node or tonsil, showing good agreement with the> antemortem biopsies. Fourteen (14) sheep had positive rectal biopsysamples;> of those, only 12 had positive eyelid biopsies. These sheep will be> monitored for disease development. However, the protocol is identical for> all samples and it is probable that these sheep represent false negative> third eyelid results. Abstracts of reports on the UK studies indicate that> sensitivity of the test was 70% in the UK; similar large scale testing onUS> sheep is necessary. The biopsy tissue is somewhat difficult to handle inthe> tissue processing laboratory and adaptation to an ELISA format may improve> test performance.>> Alexia McKnight, Assistant Professor of Radiology, University of> Pennsylvania, reviewed magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) diagnostics before> the committee. A synopsis containing references is attached at the end of> this report. Dr. McKnight asked the question, "could MRI be acost-effective> screening test, estimated at $25-30 each with results immediately> available." The committee feels that it is not practical as compared to> other alternatives currently available. However, the committee expressed> interest in future reference to this technology.>> Dr. Diane Sutton lead the Uniform Methods and Rules (UM&R) and Regulatory> Issues Discussion. Several modifications to the UM&R were discussed. Eight> issues were identified and communicated to the APHIS scrapie program> coordinator. The committee acknowledged that APHIS and the industry is> adequately addressing the year-to-year industry concerns.>> Dr. Kris Petrini representing the North Central United States AnimalHealth> Association District presented five recommendations to the Committee.During> the discussions regarding these recommendations it was evident that allfive> issues had been addressed during the year at this Committee meeting.>> The Committee approved a recommendation that USDA-APHIS-VS continue to> provide indemnity funds for animals that have been designated for testingin> Flocks Under Investigation as an alternative to third eyelid testing after> consultation with the designated Scrapie Epidemiologist (DSE) and the> Regional Area Epidemiologist (RAE).>> The 2004 Resolutions along with their responses were reviewed by the> Committee.>> A Resolution concerning premises registration and identification was> approved by the Committee and forwarded to the Committee on Nominationsand> Resolutions.>> Committee on Scrapie>> Status Report-Fiscal Year 2005: Cooperative State-Federal Scrapie> Eradication Program>> Submitted by Diane Sutton, DVM and Gary Ross, DVM>> National Center for Animal Health Programs, APHIS, USDA>> In Fiscal Year 2005 the Scrapie Eradication Program focused on: (1)> utilization of a genetic based approach to flock clean-up plans; (2)> cleaning up infected and source flocks; (3) tracing and testing exposed> animals and flocks; (4) expansion of regulatory slaughter surveillance> (RSSS); (5) conducting considtent state reviews, (6) producer education;(7)> upgrading of the Scrapie National Generic Database and (8) publishing the> updated Scrapie Eradication Uniform Methods and Rules (UM&R). The current> Scrapie Eradication UM&R is posted at> http://www.aphis.usda.gov/vs/nahps/scrapie/umr-scrapie-erad.pdf.>> Consistent State Reviews>> States must meet the requirements in 9 CFR 79.6 in order to move sheep and> goats in interstate commerce with minimal restrictions. Twenty sevenstates> have enacted the required identification rules, the remaining states have> submitted a work plan that describes the steps that will be taken tocomply> and provided a timeline for completing significant milestones. USDA is> conducting onsite scrapie program consistent state reviews and hascompleted> reviews in 12 states. States must be in full compliance by the end oftheir> current rule making cycle. States not in full compliance at that time will> be removed from the consistent state list. Removal from the list would> create a significant impact on the interstate movement of sheep and goats> from those States.>> Scrapie Flock Certification Program>> As of September 30, 2005, there were 1,961 flocks participating in the> Scrapie Flock Certification Program (SFCP). Of these flocks 188 were> certified flocks, 1,770 were complete monitored flocks, and 3 wereselective> monitored flocks (figure 2). There were 209 flocks newly enrolled and 53> newly certified (13 with status dates in FY 2005 and 40 with status datesin> previous years) in FY 2005 (figure 3).>> Infected and Source Flocks>> As of September 30, 2005, there were 105 scrapie infected and sourceflocks.> There were a total of 165** new infected and source flocks reported for FY> 2005. The total infected and source flocks that have been released in FY> 2005 was 128. The ratio of infected and source flocks cleaned up or placed> on clean up plans vs. new infected and source flocks discovered in FY 2005> was 1.03 : 1*. In addition 622 scrapie cases were confirmed and reportedby> the National Veterinary Services Laboratories (NVSL) in FY 2005, of which> 130 were RSSS cases. Fifteen cases of scrapie in goats have been reported> since 1990. The last goat case was reported in May 2005. Approximately5,626> animals were indemnified comprised of 49% non-registered sheep, 45%> registered sheep, 1.4% non-registered goats and 4.6% registered goats.>> Regulatory Scrapie Slaughter Surveillance (RSSS)>> RSSS was designed to utilize the findings of the Center for Epidemiologyand> Animal Health (CEAH) Scrapie: Ovine Slaughter Surveillance (SOSS) study.The> results of SOSS can be found at> http://www.aphis.usda.gov/vs/ceah/cahm/Sheep/sheep.htm . RSSS startedApril> 1,>> 2003. It is a targeted slaughter surveillance program which is designed to> identify infected flocks for clean-up. During FY 2005 collectionsincreased> by 32% overall and by 90% for black and mottled faced sheep improving> overall program effectiveness and efficiency as demonstrated by the 26%> decrease in percent positive black faced sheep compared to FY 2004.Samples> have been collected from 62,864 sheep since April 1, 2003, of whichresults> have been reported for 59,105 of which 209 were confirmed positive. DuringF> Y 2005, 33,137 samples were collected from 81 plants. There have been 130> NVSL confirmed positive cases (30 collected in FY 2004 and confirmed in FY> 2005 and 100 collected and confirmed in FY 2005) in FY 2005. Face colorsof> these positives were 114 black, 14 mottled, 1 white and 1 unknown. The> percent positive by face color is shown in the chart below.>> Scrapie Testing>> In FY 2005, 35,845 animals have been tested for scrapie: 30,192 RSSS;4,742> regulatory field cases; 772 regulatory third eyelid biopsies; 10 third> eyelid validations; and 129 necropsy validations (chart 9).>> Animal ID>> As of October 04, 2005, 103,580 sheep and goat premises have been assigned
> identification numbers in the Scrapie National Generic Database. Official> eartags have been issued to 73,807 of these premises.>> *This number based on an adjusted 12 month interval to accommodate the 60> day period for setting up flock plans.>>>> http://www.usaha.org/committees/reports/2005/report-scr-2005.pdf>>>>>> Subject: SCRAPIE USA UPDATE AS of March 31, 2006 2 NEW CASES IN GOAT, 82> INFECTED SOURCE FLOCKS, 19 INFECTED RSSS>> Date: April 30, 2006 at 4:49 pm PST> SCRAPIE USA UPDATE AS of March 31, 2006>>> 2 NEW CASES IN GOAT, 82 INFECTED SOURCE FLOCKS, WITH 4 NEW INFECTED SOURCE> FLOCKS IN MARCH, WITH 19 SCRAPIE INFECTED RSSS REPORTED BY NVSL>>>http://www.aphis.usda.gov/vs/nahps/scrapie/monthly_report/monthly-report.html>>>>> 12/10/76> AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH COUNCIL> REPORT OF THE ADVISORY COMMITTE ON SCRAPIE> Office Note> CHAIRMAN: PROFESSOR PETER WILDY>> snip...>> A The Present Position with respect to Scrapie> A] The Problem>> Scrapie is a natural disease of sheep and goats. It is a slow> and inexorably progressive degenerative disorder of the nervous system> and it ia fatal. It is enzootic in the United Kingdom but not in all> countries.>> The field problem has been reviewed by a MAFF working group> (ARC 35/77). It is difficult to assess the incidence in Britain for> a variety of reasons but the disease causes serious financial loss;> it is estimated that it cost Swaledale breeders alone $l.7 M during> the five years 1971-1975. A further inestimable loss arises from the> closure of certain export markets, in particular those of the United> States, to British sheep.>> It is clear that scrapie in sheep is important commercially and> for that reason alone effective measures to control it should be> devised as quickly as possible.>> Recently the question has again been brought up as to whether> scrapie is transmissible to man. This has followed reports that the> disease has been transmitted to primates. One particularly lurid> speculation (Gajdusek 1977) conjectures that the agents of scrapie,> kuru, Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease and transmissible encephalopathy of> mink are varieties of a single "virus". The U.S. Department of> Agriculture concluded that it could "no longer justify or permit> scrapie-blood line and scrapie-exposed sheep and goats to be processed> for human or animal food at slaughter or rendering plants" (ARC 84/77)"> The problem is emphasised by the finding that some strains of scrapie> produce lesions identical to the once which characterise the human> dementias">> Whether true or not. the hypothesis that these agents might be> transmissible to man raises two considerations. First, the safety> of laboratory personnel requires prompt attention. Second, action> such as the "scorched meat" policy of USDA makes the solution of the> acrapie problem urgent if the sheep industry is not to suffer> grievously.>> snip...>>> 76/10.12/4.6>>> http://www.bseinquiry.gov.uk/files/yb/1976/10/12004001.pdf>>>>> Published online before print October 20, 2005>> Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 10.1073/pnas.0502296102> Medical Sciences>> A newly identified type of scrapie agent can naturally infect sheep with> resistant PrP genotypes>> ( sheep prion transgenic mice )>> Annick Le Dur *, Vincent Béringue *, Olivier Andréoletti , Fabienne Reine*,> Thanh Lan Laï *, Thierry Baron , Bjørn Bratberg ¶, Jean-Luc Vilotte ,> Pierre Sarradin **, Sylvie L. Benestad ¶, and Hubert Laude *> *Virologie Immunologie Moléculaires and Génétique Biochimique et> Cytogénétique, Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique, 78350> Jouy-en-Josas, France; Unité Mixte de Recherche, Institut National de la> Recherche Agronomique-Ecole Nationale Vétérinaire de Toulouse,Interactions> Hôte Agent Pathogène, 31066 Toulouse, France; Agence Française de Sécurité> Sanitaire des Aliments, Unité Agents Transmissibles Non Conventionnels,> 69364 Lyon, France; **Pathologie Infectieuse et Immunologie, Institut> National de la Recherche Agronomique, 37380 Nouzilly, France; and> ¶Department of Pathology, National Veterinary Institute, 0033 Oslo, Norway>>> Edited by Stanley B. Prusiner, University of California, San Francisco,CA,> and approved September 12, 2005 (received for review March 21, 2005)>> Scrapie in small ruminants belongs to transmissible spongiform> encephalopathies (TSEs), or prion diseases, a family of fatal> neurodegenerative disorders that affect humans and animals and cantransmit> within and between species by ingestion or inoculation. Conversion of the> host-encoded prion protein (PrP), normal cellular PrP (PrPc), into a> misfolded form, abnormal PrP (PrPSc), plays a key role in TSE transmission> and pathogenesis. The intensified surveillance of scrapie in the European> Union, together with the improvement of PrPSc detection techniques, hasled> to the discovery of a growing number of so-called atypical scrapie cases.> These include clinical Nor98 cases first identified in Norwegian sheep on> the basis of unusual pathological and PrPSc molecular features and "cases"> that produced discordant responses in the rapid tests currently applied to> the large-scale random screening of slaughtered or fallen animals.> Worryingly, a substantial proportion of such cases involved sheep with PrP> genotypes known until now to confer natural resistance to conventional> scrapie. Here we report that both Nor98 and discordant cases, including> three sheep homozygous for the resistant PrPARR allele (A136R154R171),> efficiently transmitted the disease to transgenic mice expressing ovinePrP,> and that they shared unique biological and biochemical features upon> propagation in mice. These observations support the view that a truly> infectious TSE agent, unrecognized until recently, infects sheep and goat> flocks and may have important implications in terms of scrapie control and> public health.>>> ----------------------------------------------------------------------------> ---- >> Author contributions: H.L. designed research; A.L.D., V.B., O.A., F.R.,> T.L.L., J.-L.V., and H.L. performed research; T.B., B.B., P.S., and S.L.B.> contributed new reagents/analytic tools; V.B., O.A., and H.L. analyzeddata;> and H.L. wrote the paper.>> A.L.D. and V.B. contributed equally to this work.>> To whom correspondence should be addressed.>> Hubert Laude, E-mail: laude@jouy.inra.fr>>>> www.pnas.org/cgi/doi/10.1073/pnas.0502296102>>>>> http://www.pnas.org/cgi/content/abstract/0502296102v1>>>>>> Of greatest interest today is the BSE agent because it is the presumptive> cause of new variant CJD and must be considered a demonstrated risk tohuman> health. The scrapie agent poses a theoretical risk to human health.>> Today we ask you to consider the implications of two theoretical> possibilities: the first, that sheep and goats in BSE countries> theoretically might be infected with the BSE agent, and Professor Almond,> who headed a subcommittee of the United Kingdom's SpongiformEncephalopathy> Advisory Committee, has agreed to review that topic for us today.>> Then scrapie, which theoretically might be a human pathogen, thoughthere's> no hard evidence for that, and of course, some number of sheep and goatsin> many countries, including the United States, are infected with the scrapie> agent.>> Now, let me say now that no U.S. government regulatory authority wouldever> knowingly permit humans or animals to be exposed to a product containingthe> scrapie agent, but considering the nature of the scrapie agent and the> disease, we are not so naive as to think that such exposures have not> already occurred. ...>>> FULL TEXT ;>>>>> http://www.fda.gov/ohrms/dockets/ac/99/transcpt/3518t2.rtf>>>>http://72.14.209.104/searchq=cache:pKJPlLI2R44J:www.fda.gov/ohrms/dockets/ac/99/transcpt/3518t2.rtf+scrapie+strains+breed+east+friesian&hl=en&gl=us&ct=clnk&cd=23>>>>>> TSS>> #################### https://lists.aegee.org/bse-l.html> ####################>
still disgustedly mad in Bacliff, Texas and pondering my next move. ...
TSS
----- Original Message ----- From: "Terry S. Singeltary Sr." To: Sent: Tuesday, March 20, 2007 12:39 PMSubject: Re: FOIA REQUEST FOR ATYPICAL TSE INFORMATION ON VERMONT SHEEP
> Greetings BSE-L,>> I am sorry to say, but confusious is confused again about something.> IF you remember correctly, we had a DECLARATION OF EXTRAORDINARY EMERGENCY> BECAUSE OF AN ATYPICAL T.S.E. (PRION DISEASE) OF FOREIGN ORIGIN IN THE> UNITED STATES, and this was about those VERMONT sheep from Belgium, of mad> river valley. IF you remember correctly, all those sheep were confiscated> and slaughtered, supposedly with immediate mouse bioassays to begin. 7years> later, were still waiting for an answer that should have taken 2 yearswith> mouse bio-assays. THE farm was quarantined for years. SO, why nodeclaration> of emergency, why no sheep slaughter, why no farm quarantined about thisnew> atypical TSE sheep case in Wyoming i.e. nor98 case ???>> ALSO, about my FOIA request. USDA would never answer, so i turned to theOIG> about this, and they HAVE opened a FOIA request case for me about this.you> call this the 'end around'. now whether or not we get an answer of what> exact phenotype of TSE those mad sheep of mad river valley really had,well> have to wait and see. but rest assured i will let you know if and when i> find out. ...>> kind regards,> terry>>> ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Terry S. Singeltary Sr." > To: > Sent: Wednesday, February 28, 2007 10:00 AM> Subject: FOIA REQUEST FOR ATYPICAL TSE INFORMATION ON VERMONT SHEEP>>>> ----- Original Message ----- > From: Terry S. Singeltary Sr.> To: Boyd.Rutherford@usda.gov> Sent: Sunday, February 25, 2007 12:35 PM> Subject: FOIA REQUEST FOR ATYPICAL TSE INFORMATION ON VERMONT SHEEP>>> Greetings USDA,>>> I respectfully request the final results of the mouse bio-assays test that> were to have supposedly began 2+ years late, 5 years ago, on the imported> sheep from Belgium ?>>> WHAT happened to the test results and MOUSE BIO-ASSAYS of those imported> sheep from Belgium that were confiscated and slaughtered from the> Faillace's, what sort of TSE did these animals have ?>>> WERE they atypical scrapie, BSE, and or typical scrapie ?>>> HOW much longer will you refuse to give us this information ? and for what> reason ?>>> WHY is it that the Farm of the Mad Sheep of Mad River Valley were> quarantined for 5 years, but none of these farms from Texas and Alabamawith> Atypical TSE in the Bovine, they have not been quarantined for 5 years,why> not, with the real risk of BSE to sheep, whom is to say this was not BSE ?>>> snip.>> full text ;>>> http://www.fsis.usda.gov/OPPDE/Comments/2006-0011/2006-0011-1.pdf>>>>>https://web01.aphis.usda.gov/regpublic.nsf/168556f5aa7a82ba85256ed00044eb1f/eff9eff1f7c5cf2b87256ecf000df08d?OpenDocument>>>>> FURTHERMORE, I respectfully request up front, that any fees for this FOIAbe> wavered due to the fact this information should be free to the public andis> in the best interest for the public to have these final results, no> financial gain from this FOIA information is to be made either. ...>>> Thank You,>>> kind regards,>> Terry S. Singeltary Sr.> P.O. Box 42> Bacliff, Texas USA 77518>>> Imported>> Belgium/Netherlands>> Sheep Test Results>> Background>> Factsheet>> Veterinary Services April 2002>> APHIS>> snip.>> Additional tests will be conducted to determine>> exactly what TSE the animals have BSE or scrapie.>> These tests involve the use of bioassays that consist>> of injecting mice with tissue from the infected animals>> Page 15 of 98>> 8/3/2006>> and waiting for them to develop disease. This testing>> may take at least 2 to 3 years to complete.>> http://www.aphis.usda.gov/lpa/pubs/fsheet_faq_notice/fs_ahvtsheeptr.pdf>>>> DECLARATION OF EXTRAORDINARY EMERGENCY BECAUSE OF AN ATYPICAL T.S.E.>> (PRION DISEASE) OF FOREIGN ORIGIN IN THE UNITED STATES>>>>http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=2000_register&docid=fr20jy00-31>>>> DECLARATION OF EXTRAORDINARY EMERGENCY BECAUSE OF AN ATYPICAL T.S.E>> (PRION DISEASE) OF FOREIGN ORIGIN IN THE UNITED STATES [2]>>>>http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=2000_register&docid=fr20jy00-32>>>> --- Original Message --->>> Subject: Sheep> Date: Sat, 12 Jun 2004 14:26:04 EDT> From: LAVET22@aol.com> To: flounder@wt.net>> Mr. Singeltary.>> I hope this finds you well. As you are aware I left the USDA last> year. I can only update you on the sheep before that time. Contact was> established with the UK on doing the bioassay studies. They agreed.> However, we were prioritized after their own needs, hence the delay. I> am aware that there are now additional labs in Europe running the mouse> bioassay strain typing. You will have to contact USDA for further word.>> Linda Detwiler> =========>> My reply to Dr. Detwiler;>> --- Original Message ---> Subject: Re: Sheep> Date: Sat, 12 Jun 2004 13:53:57 -0500> From: "Terry S. Singeltary Sr."> To: LAVET22@aol.com> References:>> hello Dr. Detwiler,>> thanks for your kind reply.>> > However, we were prioritized after their own needs, hence the delay.>> not sure i understand that?>> > You will have to contact USDA for further word.>> already done that, and there answer was;>>> --- Original Message --->>> Subject: Re: hello Dr. Sutton.question please.scrapie.TSS> Date: Thu, 20 May 2004 14:36:09 -0400> From: Jim.D.Rogers@aphis.usda.gov> To: flounder@wt.net>> Dear Mr. Singeltary,>> The Western blot tests on these animals were completed in April of this> year. That means that we can begin the mouse inoculations. To get the> results of the Western blot tests, you will need to submit a Freedom of> Information Act request through our FOIA office. The FAX number there is> 301-734-5941.>> Have a nice day,>> Jim Rogers> APHIS LPA>> --- Original Message --->>> Subject: re-85th Meeting of SEAC - 30.11.04> Date: Tue, 21 Dec 2004 16:56:55 -0000> From: "Barlow, Tom (SEAC)"> To: "'flounder@wt.net'">> Dear Mr Singeltary>> Thank you for you enquiry to the SEAC secretariat about mouse bioassays> commissioned by the USDA to investigate TSE cases in imported sheep.>> After making a number of enquiries, it appears that Defra were notinvolved> with this work. However, it is possible that a UK research laboratory was> contacted by the USDA about such tests but I have been unable to find out> any further information. You may wish to make further enquiries with the> USDA.>> Yours sincerely>> Tom Barlow>> Dr Tom Barlow> Spongiform Encephalopathy Advisory Committee (SEAC) Secretariat> Area 108, 1A Page Street, London SW1P 4PQ>> Tel: 0207 904 6267>>> ===================>>>>>https://web01.aphis.usda.gov/regpublic.nsf/168556f5aa7a82ba85256ed00044eb1f/eff9eff1f7c5cf2b87256ecf000df08d?>>>> http://www.fsis.usda.gov/OPPDE/Comments/2006-0011/2006-0011-1.pdf>>>> Terry S. Singeltary Sr.> P.O. Box 42> Bacliff, Texas USA 77518


Monitoring the occurrence of emerging forms of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease inthe United States

http://cjdusa.blogspot.com/

i am reminded of a few things deep throat (high ranking official at usda)told me years ago;

==========================================

The most frightening thing I have read all day is thereport of Gambetti's finding of a new strain ofsporadic cjd in young people.........Dear God,

https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=7842737484277562285&postID=5759550357128128100

BSE BASE MAD COW TESTING TEXAS, USA, AND CANADA, A REVIEW OF SORTS

http://madcowtesting.blogspot.com/

http://usdameatexport.blogspot.com/


MADCOW USDA the untold story

http://madcowusda.blogspot.com/


MADCOW USDA the untold story continued

https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=6472149427883113751&postID=4829467681293855400

USA NOR-98 SCRAPIE UPDATE AUGUST 31, 2007 RISES TO 5 DOCUMENTED CASES

http://nor-98.blogspot.com/

Government Accountability Project

https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=3995372399492420922&postID=295754279213239559

Transmissible Mink Encephalopathy TME

http://transmissible-mink-encephalopathy.blogspot.com/

TME hyper/drowsy, INTER-SPECIES TRANSMISSION CWD and strainproperties

https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=37955408&postID=116577315153980667

USA NVCJD BLOOD RECALLS ONLY ;

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=CJD+BLOOD+RECALLS+TSS&btnG=Search

vCJD case study highlights blood transfusion risk

http://vcjdblood.blogspot.com/


CREUTZFELDT JAKOB DISEASE MAD COW BASE, CWD, SCRAPIE UPDATE OCT 2007

http://cjdmadcowbaseoct2007.blogspot.com/


TSEAC MEETINGS

http://tseac.blogspot.com/


ABSTRACTS SPORADIC CJD AND H BASE MAD COW ALABAMA AND TEXAS SEPTEMBER 2007Date: Mon, 24 Sep 2007 21:31:55 -0500I suggest that you all read the data out about h-BASE and sporadic CJD, GSS,blood, and some of the other abstracts from the PRION2007. ...

http://lists.ifas.ufl.edu/cgi-bin/wa.exe?A2=ind0709&L=sanet-mg&T=0&F=&S=&P=19744


*** PLEASE READ AND UNDERSTAND THE RAMIFICATIONS OF THIS !!! THE PRICE OFPOKER INDEED GOES UP. ...TSSUSA BASE CASE, (ATYPICAL BSE), AND OR TSE (whatever they are calling ittoday), please note that both the ALABAMA COW, AND THE TEXAS COW, both were''H-TYPE'', personal communication Detwiler et al Wednesday, August 22, 200711:52 PM. ...TSS

http://lists.ifas.ufl.edu/cgi-bin/wa.exe?A2=ind0708&L=sanet-mg&T=0&P=19779


From: "Terry S. Singeltary Sr."Subject: CWD UPDATE 88 AUGUST 31, 2007

http://lists.ifas.ufl.edu/cgi-bin/wa.exe?A2=ind0709&L=sanet-mg&T=0&P=450


PLEASE NOTE IN USA CJD UPDATE AS AT JUNE 2007, please note steady increasein ''TYPE UNKNOWN''. ...TSS1 Acquired in the United Kingdom; 2 Acquired in Saudi Arabia; 3 Includes 17inconclusive and 9 pending (1 from 2006, 8from 2007); 4 Includes 17 non-vCJD type unknown (2 from 1996, 2 from 1997, 1from 2001, 1 from 2003, 4 from 2004, 3from 2005, 4 from 2006) and 36 type pending (2 from 2005, 8 from 2006,*** 26 from 2007)


http://www.cjdsurveillance.com/pdf/case-table.pdf



http://pro-med.blogspot.com/2007/11/proahedr-prion-disease-update-2007-07.html



Terry S. Singeltary Sr.
P.O. Box 42
Bacliff, Texas USA 77518