Mad Cow Conference

70 疯牛病预防讨论会

DATE=7-17-01
TITLE=AGRICULTURE REPORT - Mad Cow Conference 1
BYLINE=George Grow

(Start at 01'0")his is Bill White with the VOA Special English AGRICULTURE REPORT.  
Animal health experts say all countries should guard against (1)Mad Cow Disease 2.  The experts (2)urge 3 countries to take steps to prevent Mad Cow Disease in animals.  They also support measures to prevent the human form of the disease.  
The experts met at a (3)conference in Paris, France last month.  The (4)World Health Organization, the (5)Food and Agriculture Organization and the (6)World Animal Health Organization (7)organized the meeting.
The official name of the cattle 4 disease is (8)Bovine 5 Spongiform Encephalopathy, or B-S-E.  It causes holes in the brain.  Cows act strangely before they die.  So it is known 6 as Mad Cow Disease.  B-S-E first appeared in Britain.  All animals known to have the disease have been found in Europe or imports from Europe. 
Scientists believe that eating (9)infected beef may cause a similar disease in humans.  This deadly disease is called Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease.  It cannot be cured.  In recent years, nearly one-hundred people in Europe have died from Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease.  
Officials at the conference said more than thirty countries have (10)banned the import of meat and bone meal and live cattle from western Europe.  The officials said countries can be considered at (11)risk for B-S-E if they imported such products from western Europe during the past twenty years.  They said parts of Eastern Europe, Asia and the Middle East are at increased risk.
The Food and Agriculture Organization says banning imports of meat and bone meal, cattle and beef is not the only way to control the spread of B-S-E.  The F-A-O suggests testing high risk animals, especially imported animals.  And it urges 7 animal feed producers to test the quality of their products.  
F-A-O officials urge governments to (12)establish a national action plan to control B-S-E.  They say all countries should ban the feeding of meat and bone meal to cattle, goats and sheep.
The officials also urge countries to approve measures to control the killing 8 of animals for food.  They say this would reduce the chance of infected meat being sold as food for people.  They also say the human food supply should not include the riskiest 9 animal parts, such as the head and (13)spinal 10 cord 11.  
This VOA Special English AGRICULTURE REPORT was written by George Grow. This is Bill White.

(1) Mad Cow Disease n. 疯牛病，牛绵状脑病
(2) urge [ E:dV ] vt.催促
(3) conference [ 5kCnfErEns ] n. 讨论会
(4) World Health Organization n.世界卫生组织
(5) Food and Agriculture Organization联合国粮食农业组织
(6) World Animal Health Organization 世界牲畜健康组织
(7) organize [ 5C:^Enaiz ] vt.组织
(8) Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy abbr. 牛绵状脑病
(9) infected [In`fektId]adj.(伤口)被感染的
(10) ban [ bB:n ] vt.禁止
(11) risk [ risk ] n.冒险, 风险
(12) establish [ is5tAbliF ] vt.建立, 设立
(13) spinal [ 5spainl ] adj.脊骨的, 脊髓的