Brazil downplays ‘mad cow’ risk in Rio suspected cases

SAO PAULO / RIO DE JANEIRO, Nov.11 (Reuters) – Brazil’s agriculture ministry said two cases reported on Thursday of a neurodegenerative disorder in patients in Rio de Janeiro state were unrelated to the consumption of beef, alleviating fears of a possible “mad cow” disease causing human illness.

Federal Biomedical Institute Fiocruz, which is studying the possibility of bovine spongiform encephalitis – the official name for mad cow disease – said the two patients are suspected of having the “sporadic” form of Creutzfeldt disease. -Jakob not related to beef consumption.

On September 4, Brazil confirmed two cases of what it called “atypical” mad cow disease in animals, triggering a suspension beef exports to China under a permanent bilateral agreement.

At the time, the Ministry of Agriculture pointed out that the two cases identified in meat processing plants in the states of Mato Grosso and Minas Gerais had arisen spontaneously and were not linked to contaminated food. , as in classic mad cow disease.

On Thursday, the ministry said the two suspected cases of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease in humans were “unrelated to the consumption of beef or by-products contaminated with bovine spongiform encephalitis, known as mad cow disease “.

Earlier, municipal health officials in the city of Rio said Fiocruz had reported two cases of “prion disease,” which can occur spontaneously in elderly patients or by eating contaminated beef in younger populations. Creutzfeldt-Jakob is the most common form of prion disease in humans.

City health officials said the two cases identified in residents of suburban Rio had been referred to state health officials, without giving the ages of the patients.

Questions about the cases could further delay a Chinese decision on lifting the ban on Brazilian beef, which has failed dozens of shipments, rerouted many more and weighed on beef exports from Latin America’s largest country.

The main Brazilian beef exporters from Brazil, JBS SA (JBSS3.SA), Minerva SA (BEEF3.SA) and Marfrig Global Foods SA (MRFG3.SA), did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Reporting by Nayara Figueiredo in Sao Paulo and Rodrigo Viga Gaier in Rio de Janeiro Writing by Ana Mano Editing by Brad Haynes, Kirsten Donovan and Bill Berkrot

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