January 05, 2004

Guyana Bans US Meat

Guyana has joined a growing list of countries banning U.S. meat following the outbreak of mad cow disease.

The South American country imposed the ban on products including raw and pickled meat from cows, turkeys, ducks and pigs, including tripe and products used for pet food, officials said.

"We have informed all our importers of meat and meat products that there is a temporary ban on meat and meat products originating from the USA," Guyana's chief veterinarian, Kenrick Elias, said at a news conference.

Officials said they were taking measures recommended by the Caribbean Community to minimize the threat of infection and that the ban should be lifted once clearance is given from international organizations.

Guyana is also a producer of beef, and officials said they hope to head off any threat to the country's herds.

More than 30 countries have banned U.S. beef products since the first U.S. case of mad cow disease, or bovine spongiform encephalopathy, was found in a Washington state Holstein slaughtered Dec. 9.

The U.S. government is taking steps to boost confidence, announcing changes this week including a ban on meat from cows that can't walk or stand on their own and a promise to speed creation of an animal tracking system.

Humans who consume infected beef can develop a brain-wasting illness, variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said 153 people worldwide, most of them in Britain, have contracted the human form of the illness since the mid-1990s. The cases are believed linked to the outbreak of mad cow disease that began in Britain in the 1980s.