Content
Media Release
Description: Plan of Action to Respond to vCJD |
Type: Ministerial Media Release |
Plan of Action to Respond to vCJD
Australia's peak advisory committee on transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs), including BSE, has endorsed a plain English version of the plan of action to respond to any future suspected case of variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (vCJD) in Australia.
vCJD is the human form of mad cow disease in animals. About 115 people have been diagnosed with vCJD in Britain, with a small number also occurring in Ireland, France, Hong Kong and Italy. It is believed that these people have previously eaten beef from affected livestock.
"Australia has no BSE in its cattle and we have no cases of vCJD," Professor Graeme Ryan, Chair of the National Health and Medical Research Council's Special Expert Committee on TSEs (SECTSE), said today.
"However, because of the extensive travel between Australia and the UK, it is almost inevitable that a case of vCJD will be discovered in Australia in the future.
"In anticipation of this, Australian health and agriculture authorities have developed a range of strategies and action plans, but I am pleased that a plain English version has been produced that can be placed on the NHMRC and the Commonwealth Department of Health's website to keep the general public informed.
"The success of any public health contingency plan relies on public cooperation and it is essential that people understand and agree with the actions being proposed.
"The contingency plan is a living document that can be adapted as events progress, but it gives people vital information if they are interested in this public health issue," Professor Ryan said.
The document, How Australia Will Respond to Our First Case of vCJD: A Guide for the Public, is available on the websites of the NHMRC at www.nhmrc.gov.au the Commonwealth Department of Health and Ageing at www.health.gov.au