London - The record was huge - tens of British dead, tens of thousands of destroyed livelihoods or are afflicted, 170,000 cattle slaughtered, and a bill of $ 7.5 billion. Yesterday, an independent panel reported that the BSE epidemic in Britain was caused by a series of errors and misunderstandings on many levels. But in the end, the committee found "no heroes or villains" and no government cover-up. "If action had been taken earlier, the infection could have been reduced," said the chairman of the committee Lord Philips reporters after the results were published on October 26th. "But the situation was bad before someone knew what was going on. "
the report in 16 volumes concludes the official on the epidemic of bovine spongiform encephalopathy investigation, or bovine spongiform encephalopathy, a brain disease that affects cattle, and his mortal human counterpart, variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD). beef consumption infected with BSE is now considered the main cause of the current epidemic of vCJD in Britain. So far, nearly 80 people have died of the disease since the first case was reported in 1995, and future loss estimates vary widely ( Science , September 1, p. 1452).
despite criticism of previous British government officials have sought to minimize the risk of BSE, the new report avoids an outright condemnation of the government or senior officials. But while refusing to point the blame on someone, the three-member committee reviews all. Politicians have failed to provide a balanced picture of the risks of BSE, scientists still incredibly expected to come with clear answers to a mysterious threat to health. Communication broke down between departments and between staff and senior ministers. Farmers, producers of animal feed and slaughterhouses ignored safety regulations. Legislative obstacles - such as regulations of the European Union - have prevented swift action
Scientists do not escape unscathed .. One of the key scientific advisory committees, headed by zoologist Richard Southwood of University of Oxford in 1988 promoted precautions to reduce the risk of transmission of BSE to humans - thought to be a risk away at the time. But he failed to make this clear vision in a final report, Philips said. Administrators of science are equally guilty, the report said. In one case, Chief Medical Officer Sir Donald Acheson proposed a "search supremo" to coordinate research and identify gaps in knowledge, but it was opposed by the research councils - main group of the UK organizations funding - and the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and fisheries, who feared losing their autonomy.
the British government and the House applauded the findings. "The report contains many lessons for the public administration", said Agriculture Minister Nick Brown. A lawyer for the families of the victims, David Body, called the findings "a more comprehensive employment and appropriate "and warns journalists to read the full report before reaching a conclusion.
Related site
The entire Philips report
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