December 12, 2012

Belarus temporarily restricts cattle imports from Brazil

Due to the recent outbreak of bovine spongiform encephalopathy in Brazil, Belarus imposed a temporary ban on the import of cattle from Brazil.

The BelTA learnt from the veterinary and food supervision department of the Agriculture and Food Ministry of Belarus.

According to the information provided by the World Organisation for Animal Health, the case was registered in the State of Parana. Belarus has temporary banned the import of pedigree cattle, sheep and goats, wild, zoo and circus animals, meat and other meat raw material, fodder and animal feed additives to prevent a spread of the disease.

Bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), commonly known as mad cow disease is a fatal disease in cattle that causes a spongy degeneration in the brain and spinal cord. BSE has a long incubation period, from 30 months to eight years. The disease is easily transmitted to human beings by eating food contaminated with the brain, spinal cord or digestive tract of infected carcasses. In humans, it is known as Creutzfeldt-Jacob disease.