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toxoplasma gondii
Pat's Note: I have just been doing some checking. For once my use of Google
has rather let me down. Many articles dealing with toxoplasmosis, don't actually use the word, prefering instead to talk about the actual parasite, rather than the condition. The explosive piece in the The Herald http://www.theherald.co.uk/features/67850.html this morning is merely representative of many others along the same lines published all over the place recently. That makes it merely a matter of time before the French Food Standards Agency allegations that Britain's Food Standards Agency has been covering up toxoplasmosis in pigs, becomes common knowledge. Even more explosive was the removal of the only article in the British media from the WWW, overnight following publication. Fortunately, I caught it during the short time frame it was available and, if you recall published it on the newsgroup uk.business.agriculture. For the convenience of readers, here again is the text of the supressed article - and I follow it with the a report published in English on the Continent dealing with the same allegations. As you can see they differ and from the dates you can see that it was probably the French publication that forced the UK pig industry to publish an article, which was quickly removed almost certainly as a result of pressure from the British Food Standards Agency. http://www.npa-uk.net/ June 13 Toxoplasmosis endemic in British pigs, claims French expert By Digby Scott According to some researchers, outdoor pigs are over 20 times more likely to be infected with toxoplasma gondii than indoor pigs. And now a respected French food safety expert, Dr Pascal Boireau, is claiming toxoplasmosis is endemic in the British national herd, where about a third of sows are kept outdoors. This claim could have important implications for the way British pork is marketed. As trichinella has not been detected in British pigmeat for 26 years consumers are gradually being weaned off the idea that pork has to be overcooked to be safe. All the evidence suggests that slightly pink pork is perfectly safe, and certainly more succulent and tender. But if toxoplasma gondii really is becoming a problem in outdoor pigs - and the evidence has yet to be produced - pork may once again be seen as a meat that must be handled with special care. Outdoor producers might therefore consider intensifying rodent control. They should also do what they can to discourage cats, which shelter toxoplasma gondii in their faeces. It will also be helpful if Defra decides to kill-out the pockets of feral wild boar in Britain. Pigs can be infected with toxoplasma gondii through ingesting contaminated feed, water, and soil, and by eating infected rodents. Toxoplasma gondii infection in food-producing animals is acknowledged as a potential public health problem by the Food Standards Agency. Infection can be transmitted to humans through the handling and consumption of raw or undercooked meat containing the organism. Although it does not present a hazard to normally healthy adults it can pose a threat to unborn children and to immunocompromised individuals such as the ill and elderly. It has been shown by researchers that pigs kept indoors are far less likely to be infected with the organism. Conversely, the problem of infection with outdoor pigs may be greater than was hitherto supposed. Researchers in Brazil found over 86 percent of outdoor pigs tested had antibodies to toxoplasma gondii. There is also evidence that the prevalence of toxoplasma gondii increases with age. Dr Pascal Boireau, a director of the French equivalent of the United Kingdom's Food Standards Agency, has suggested Britain is underplaying the risk of contracting toxoplasmosis from British pigmeat. He claims the toxoplasmosis threat is real and probably growing, and says more studies are needed, especially into animal-to-animal transmission. He acknowledges the truth in Britain's claim that the national pig herd is free of the parasite trichinella but says no such claim can be made for toxoplasmosis. He is also concerned about the situation in France where there are greater opportunities for outdoor pigs to be cross-contaminated from wild boar, where infection rates are running at 10-20 percent. http://www.foodmanufacture.co.uk/new...UK _pigs.html French scientist warns of dangerous parasite in UK pigs By Rick Pendrous Published: 12 June, 2006 The UK is underplaying the risk of contracting toxoplasmosis from home-reared pig meat, according to a French food safety expert who claims the parasite that causes the disease is endemic in the national herd. Dr Pascal Boireau, a director at AFSSA, the French equivalent of the UK's Food Standards Agency (FSA), and a specialist in parasitic contamination of the food chain is carrying out research into the extent of the infection in his own country. He said the threat was real and probably growing, but more studies were needed, especially into animal to animal transmission. Although there are no figures to show the extent of infection in the UK, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) denies that toxoplasmosis is endemic. Meanwhile, the Food Standards Agency, which is more candid about its existence, warns pregnant women - who are at higher risk - against handling and eating raw and undercooked pork cuts, mince, and ready-meals. Since the 1960s, when the UK herd was declared free of the potentially dangerous parasitic zoonoses trichinella, consumer advice from the Meat and Livestock Commission (MLC)¬ has implied that rare pork was no longer a source of danger. Boireau disagrees. "The UK is OK for trichinella, but for toxoplasmosis, no," he said. Elsewhere advice is confused. In the Irish Republic rare pork is declared safe to eat, while Northern Ireland follows the FSA's line, creating problems for organisations giving dietary advice across the island of Ireland. Although toxoplasmosis can also be found in the soil and is known to be present in cat faeces, Boireau claims "80% of contamination is from meat". He is particularly concerned about outdoor reared pork and the potential for cross contamination from wild boar, among whom infection rates in France are running at 10 to 20%. At a meeting of the Advisory Committee on the Microbiological Safety of Food held at the FSA headquarters last week, the potential dangers of consumers contracting Heptitis E from undercooked pork joints were also highlighted. In France, where there is still a problem with trichinella infected horse meat, Boireau's team is working on an automated microscopic technique for measuring trichinella larvae in muscle using artificial digestion. The technique will be presented at a scientific conference later this year. -- Regards Pat Gardiner www.go-self-sufficient.com |
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