RP to adopt Asean stand vs ‘mad cow’

The Philippines will take more stringent measures to protect its livestock against bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) or ‘mad cow’ disease by adopting applicable steps it jointly agreed with the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

This was disclosed yesterday by Agriculture Secretary Leonardo Montemayor after attending the 23rd meeting of the ASEAN Ministers of Agriculture and Forestry (AMAF) in Medan, North Sumatera, Indonesia, last Oct. 4, and in reaction to reports the disease has already reached Japan.

"The recently reported mad cow disease in Japan, after Europe early this year, indicates that the risk is getting closer to our shore," Montemayor said. "So, while ASEAN is traditionally free from the disease, we have agreed to take a common stand to ensure that the potential risk of BSE being introduced into the region is prevented," he explained.

The DA chief, who celebrated his 52nd birthday yesterday, said some of the common steps adopted during the Medan meeting include an ASEAN-wide ban on the import of live bovine, ova, embryos, beef and beef products from BSE-affected countries and a ban on import of meat-bone for all domestic food animals except those sourced from certified BSE-free countries.

Montemayor said the ASEAN, which groups the Philippines, Malaysia, Thailand, Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Singapore, Myanmar, and Vietnam, have also agreed to prohibit the feeding of meat-bone meal to ruminant like goat, sheep and rabbit to prevent possible spread of the illness across the region.

He said as part of the agreement, the Department of Agriculture will soon undertake national surveillance of BSE infection in local ruminants population and evaluate the country’s potential exposure through systematic assessment of trade data and possible risk factors.

The Philippines would develop its capability and capacity to detect the disease through clinical and laboratory diagnosis and, if necessary, to seek help form ASEAN members with the capability of BSE detection, he said.

DA would also underatake education programs for veterinarians, farmers and persons involved in cattle and other related industries such as feed mills, transport, slaughterhouses, and abattoirs to understand the measures required to prevent the introduction and to encourage the reporting of BSE.

Under the agreement, the Philippines like other ASEAN member countries, should make BSE a compulsorily notifiable disease, compelling it to report to the regional group and the international community if the illness has been found to exist in the land, Montemayor added.