MAD COW DISEASE

By: Deborah Taylor

Minchah@Lasal.Net    

The plagues of Revelation are definitely falling upon the world.  I hope each of you will take the time to read and copy this article  for your files. A rancher in Washington has taken the time to explain just how contagious  the Foot and mouth disease is and the ways that it travels.  There is ABSOLUTELY NO TREATMENT for it. Somebody that’s been on a farm can carry that virus on their clothing for four days.  They can also carry the virus in their lungs if they were close to an animal who had the disease. If they have a wad of damp manure on their shoes, the virus could live for two weeks.
 
The virus can be carried on the wind and be spread through contaminated hay or feed. It strikes cattle, pigs, sheep, deer and other cloven-hoofed animals. Afflicted animals develop blisters on their tongues, gums, feet and teats. Cows with the disease can’t nurse their calves, who then starve to death. The disease also causes spontaneous abortion in cows.
                   
The US is now talking about vaccination.  Doesn't that sound wonderful?  You say why not vaccinate U.S. herds? The vaccine at times has the capability of causing the disease or forming carriers.  If an animal that’s incubating [the disease], is vaccinated, it continue to be a spreader.

The mad cow disease is even more devastating.  The animal form is believed spread through the use of bone meal parts in cattle feed. The disease has an incubation period of four to five years.  Animals that have been imported from foreign countries five years ago are now under quarantine here in the U.S. and are going to be destroyed.  We must not be an ostrich and put our heads in the ground.  This plague has arrived in the U.S.
 

Deborah

 
            Foot-and-mouth alarms U.S. ranchers
MSNBC.com

LIKE THOUSANDS of other ranchers in the United States, Mason now lives in fear of an outbreak of the disease, which would destroy his livelihood.

The United States, which has not had a case of the disease since 1929, produced about $75 billion worth of cattle, pigs, sheep and dairy products last year. About 3 million Americans make their living on farms and ranches. Millions more people working in the restaurant, grocery, and
transportation industries would be affected by a foot-and-mouth outbreak.
 
                   CARRIED ON THE WIND
                          “With today’s airplane traffic, foot-and-mouth disease is
                   a big threat,” Mason said.
                          At the meeting of his local cattlemen’s association on the
                   second Wednesday of each month, the disease is a prime
                   topic of conversation and Mason is the man ranchers turn to
                   for answers to their worried questions.
                          In a 23-year career as a vet for the U.S. Department of
                   Agriculture, Mason, 77, fought on the front lines of
                   foot-and-mouth outbreaks in Colombia, Venezuela, Guyana,
                   Argentina, Brazil and the Philippines.

                        Foot-and-mouth outbreak strikes Ireland

                          He also spent five months battling the last
                   foot-and-mouth epidemic in Britain in 1967 and 1968.
                          “Somebody that’s been on a farm can carry that virus on
                   their clothing for four days,” he explained. “They can also
                   carry the virus in their lungs if they were close to an animal
                   who had the disease. If they have a wad of damp manure on
                   their shoes, the virus could live for two weeks.”

                          The virus can be carried on the wind and be spread
                   through contaminated hay or feed. It strikes cattle, pigs,
                   sheep, deer and other cloven-hoofed animals. Afflicted
                   animals develop blisters on their tongues, gums, feet and teats.

                          Cows with the disease can’t nurse their calves, who then
                   starve to death. The disease also causes spontaneous
                   abortion in cows.
 
                   400,000 DOOMED
                          In Great Britain, 400,000 animals have been destroyed
                   or are awaiting slaughter as authorities try to quell the
                   outbreak that began Feb. 19. The disease has spread to
                   France, Ireland and the Netherlands.
                          The U.S. government has banned all fresh beef and pork
                   imports from the 15-nation European Union and from
                   Argentina, where a foot-and-mouth outbreak was reported
                   earlier this month.
                          Senate Democratic leader Tom Daschle of South Dakota
                   wants to go even further, calling for a moratorium on all meat
                   imports in order to protect U.S. livestock from
                   foot-and-mouth and “mad cow” disease, which also has been
                   detected in Great Britain.

                          If the foot-and-mouth virus were to hit rural Kittitas
                   County in Washington state’s Yakima River valley, where
                   Mason lives, the result would be catastrophic.
                          Every year, Washington state ranchers and farmers
                   produce about $850 million worth of milk and $450 million
                   worth of cattle.
           
                   CURBS ON JAPANESE VISITORS
                          Mason has long taken steps to keep the virus off his
                   ranch. “I don’t let any visitors on the ranch that might have
                   had contact with any foreign animals,” he said, pointing out
                   that Japan, South Korea and several South American
                   countries have had foot-and-mouth outbreaks in recent years.
                          “We get buyers for timothy hay from Japan here
                   constantly every summer,” he added. “They use it to feed
                   racehorses and cows in Japan. We make them put on plastic
                   boots and, if they came from any of the provinces that had
                   foot-and-mouth in Japan, we wouldn’t allow them on the
                   ranch, period.”
                          Why not vaccinate U.S. herds? “The vaccine at times has
                   the capability of causing the disease or forming carriers,”
                   Mason said. “If you vaccinate an animal that’s incubating [the
                   disease], she’ll continue to be a spreader.”
                          At SeaTac International Airport, U.S. Department of
                   Agriculture port director Roger Holman and his staff of 12
                   inspectors form the first line of defense against the arrival of
                   foot-and-mouth.
                          About 800 travelers arrive at the airport every day from
                   Europe. As soon as they pass through the U.S. immigration
                   checkpoint, USDA inspectors interview them and check their
                   luggage to see if they are carrying any meat. If they find meat,
                   they confiscate and destroy it.
 
                   SHOE INSPECTIONS
                          If travelers say they they have been on a farm in recent
                   weeks, their shoes are inspected. If dirt or manure is found,
                   the soles are drenched in a bleach solution.
                          The USDA officials also advise travelers who have
                   recently been on farms to avoid U.S. farms, zoos, wildlife
                   areas or stockyards for five days after entering the United
                   States.
                          If the USDA’s airport line of defense were to fail, the
                   United States would face the prospect of the mass animal
                   killings European officials are now carrying out.
                          The USDA dispatched Mason to Britain in October
                   1967 to fight the disease there, so he can recall vividly how
                   the killings are carried out. “The outbreak spread very
                   rapidly,” Mason recalled. “It came in from Uruguay in meat.
                   We killed about 500,000 cattle, sheep and pigs.”
                          The animals were buried or burned. Images of the ghastly
                   pyres remain fresh in Mason’s mind. “I built one fire that was
                   over a half a mile long, 3,000 animals, sheep, cattle and pigs.
                   You put the cows down first, the sheep on top of them and
                   the pigs on top of them.”
 
 

 Mad cow disease
 Bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) was first detected
 in British cattle in 1986 and at least 180,000 cases have
 discovered since in Britain with at least 1,500 cases
 elsewhere in Europe. In 1996, scientists linked BSE to
 variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (vCJD), a fatal human form
 of the degenerative condition that has claimed at least 87
 lives in Britain, 3 in France and one in Ireland.

 The animal form is believed spread through the use of bone
 meal parts in cattle feed. The disease has an incubation
 period of four to five years, but ultimately is fatal for cattle
 within weeks to months of its onset. Scientists have linked
 the vCJD to the consumption of infected beef and the spread
 of the disease has sparked a sharp drop in beef
 consumption in Europe. Governments, scrambling to shore
 up the beleaguered agriculture economy, have attempted to
 reassure consumers by culling cattle herds and setting strict
 standards for slaughter houses and meat-processing plants.

 What is it?
 Foot-and-mouth is a severe, highly contagious viral disease
 that affects cloven-hooved animals, including cattle, pigs,
 sheep, goats and deer. The disease is characterized in
 animals by fever and blister-like lesions on the tongue and
 lips, in the mouth, on the teats, and between the claws. The
 virus can kill young animals as it causes inflammation of the
 heart muscle walls although many animals survive. But the
 disease leaves them debilitated, causing severe losses in
 the production of meat and milk. There is no effective
 treatment for the disease.

 Because foot-and-mouth can spread widely and rapidly and
 because it has grave economic as well as physical
 consequences, it is one of the animal diseases that
 livestock owners dread most.
 Does it affect people?
 People can be infected through skin wounds or through
 inhalation while handling diseased stock, the virus in the
 laboratory, or by drinking infected milk, but not by eating
 meat from infected animals. The human infection is
 temporary and mild and is not considered a public health
 problem.
 What causes it?
 Foot-and-mouth is caused by a very resilient virus that can
 survive in carcasses, animal byproducts, water, straw and
 bedding, and pastures. It can be spread by animals, people,
 or materials that bring the virus into physical contact with
 susceptible animals.Among the ways it can spread is
 through people wearing contaminated clothes or footwear or
 using contaminated equipment, or when animals carrying
 the virus are introduced into susceptible herds.

 How can it be stopped?
 The disease is very difficult to control. When there is an
 outbreak, the area is quarantined, after which all infected or
 susceptible animals are slaughtered and their carcasses
 burned. Other contaminated objects are cleaned and
 disinfected, and the farm or other quarantined area is left
 uninhabited for several months.

 However, the virus can spread quickly because the
 incubation period can last for up to 21 days, meaning
 farmers may unknowingly ship animals to markets, other
 regions or slaughterhouses before it is detected.

 Where is it?
 The disease is widespread and various forms have been
 identified in Africa, South America, Asia, and Europe. North
 America, Central America, Australia, New Zealand and Chile
 are considered virus free because governments have
 conducted effective programs to prevent its introduction or to
 eradicate it.

 The last outbreak was reported in the United States in 1929,
 Canada in 1952 and Mexico in 1954.
 Argentina
 The world’s fourth-largest beef-producing nation on March 13
 confirmed an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease in a remote
 part of Buenos Aires province, a popular cattle grazing area
 in the Pampas region, some 250 miles northwest of Buenos
 Aires.

 Australia
 The largest beef exporter in the world banned meat imports
 from Europe and Argentina and further tightened airport
 quarantine controls on travelers from those regions.
 Separately, they reported a sharp jump in demand for
 kangaroo meat in Europe as consumers avoided traditional
 meat sources because of fears about foot and mouth and
 mad cow disease.

 Britain
 The current outbreak began in early February and was first
 detected by veterinarians on Feb. 19 among pigs near an
 abattoir in Brentwood, Essex County, northeast of London.
 The virus forced the British government to order the slaughter
 of tens of thousands of animals as well as to impose
 draconian restrictions on activity in the countryside. Hiking
 was banned and many sporting events canceled, while
 farmers were unable to buy or sell livestock. More than 600
 cases have since been detected in Britain and one case in
 Northern Ireland. Government experts warn the current
 epidemic is likely to be worst than the outbreak in 1967
 when Britain was forced to cull around 500,000 sheep, pigs
 and cows.

 France
 Despite a ban on the import of livestock from Britain and
 Northern Ireland, the government disclosed that the disease
 was detected March 13 in a herd of sheep on a farm in the
 northwestern Mayenne region. The confirmation sparked
 fears that the disease could spread across mainland
 Europe.

 Agriculture Minister Jean Glavany said that France is "very
 exposed to risk" of more foot-and-mouth cases because of
 the 20,000 British sheep it imported in February that were
 scattered in 80 farms around the country.

 Ireland
 Despite draconian measures to prevent its spread from
 Northern Ireland, the Dublin government on March 22
 confirmed its first cases of the virus in County Louth, which
 sits on the border with the British-ruled province. The
 outbreak could prove a devastating blow to the country's
 agriculture business, which accounts for 10 percent of Gross
 Domestic Product.
 United States/Canada
 The USDA expanded a ban on imports of livestock and fresh
 meat to all 15 countries of the European Union on March 13.
 The ban, which also applies to unpasteurized dairy products,
 would have the biggest impact on imports of pork from the
 Netherlands and Denmark. Imports of beef from the
 European Union already were banned because of mad cow
 disease.

 The United States suspended all meat and animal imports
 from Britain on Feb. 21 and ordered stepped-up checks of
 travelers arriving from Europe. Airline passengers from
 European nations face tough scrutiny at U.S. ports of entry
 as sniffer dogs are employed to check for contraband meat
 or dairy products. Visitors also are frequently required to
 have their shoes disinfected if they appear soiled.

 Canada took the same restrictive measures adopted by the
 United States after foot-and-mouth was discovered in France
 and Argentina on March 13.

 European Union
 Although the disease has only been detected in four
 member states, all 15 countries have been affected by the
 blockade imposed by 90 trading partners, which the EU
 described as "excessive."

 The Netherlands
 On March 21, the Dutch government said it had confirmed
 the first cases of foot-and-mouth disease in four cows on a
 farm near Olst, in the eastern part of the Netherlands,
 making it the second country on the European continent to
 detect the livestock ailment.

Not long ago, I received the following in an e-mail from "Tambra."  I thought it should be added here.  Anyone who cannot see that the judgments are already upon us, is totally asleep. "Just as an interesting aside, something I wanted to share with you that He revealed several weeks ago concerning the "signs of the times" is found in Ezekiel 7:15.  (This is a chapter that IS dealing with our day. LGM) 15The sword is without, and the pestilence and the famine within: he that is in the field shall die with the sword; and he that is in the city, famine and pestilence shall devour him. The use of the word "plague" or "pestilence" is found in Strongs 1698 and is DEBER - - from 1696 in the sense of destroying 1) pestilence, plague and 2) murrain, cattle disease, cattle plague.  The use of the words "shall devour" is Strongs 398 'akal and means to eat, devour, burn up, feed ... to be wasted, destroyed of flesh - - also to eat, devour, eat their pieces.  I believe that this is referring to what we are now seeing as the epidemic known as Mad Cow disease.  There shall be earthquakes in diverse places and plagues . . . .  Just thought I'd share that tidbit. In Him,  Tambra I might add that there are FIVE MAJOR HUMAN diseases, two of which are worse than AIDS, that have already killed MILLIONS of PEOPLE!!!  This is all besides the contaminated water tables, and food chains.  We are in a mess and do not realize how serious the mess is.