Urgent message Dr Alan Fahey re the risk of Infaction In Australia

Urgent message Dr Alan Fahey re the risk of infection in Australia.

We received an email today from Dr. John Boully and feel that it is a very important issue for public awareness. Please help us to spread the word around the world.

Dear Friends,
Dr Alan Fahey is a friend of mine and, in view of his personal experience (the discovery of his aunt's CJD diagnosis after he insisted on an independent brain biopsy), I take seriously what he has to say.
Regards,
John.

One of the main topics in the media in the past week has been the government's decision to allow the importation of overseas beef into Australia starting today from countries known to have Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (mad cow disease) and it's human equivalent (spread from BSE) variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD).
This is a serious threat to the health of all Australians. One of my aunts died with CJD in 2000, it is a terrible way to die and is untreatable.

I have recently submitted a thesis on the subject and all of the following comments have been thoroughly researched.

I recommend that you only buy product of Australia animal material, not Made in Australia material (which only means that value adding has occurred here).
If you aren't sure of it's origin, don't eat it! This goes for all animal product not only beef.

BSE has not gone away. Most countries of the world are infected. Australia and New Zealand are 2 of less than half a dozen countries officially free from BSE and scrapie (mad sheep disease).

Over 2 million cattle in the UK were destroyed in an effort to try and stop BSE, mainly by shooting and burning.

Prions adhere well to surgical and dental instruments.
Prions have been spread through surgery in Australia which although rare has occurred.
Infected meat can spread the disease onto butchers and restaurant saws, boning knives, meat clovers and to cutlery and utensils used by clubs and restaurants.
The government changed the regulations in Australia in 2002 to allow the importation of live embryos and semen for many species including cattle and sheep from countries known to be infected with BSE and scrapie.

Today represents another serious widening of the breech in our quarantine border security.
A thought for the future: animal genes have been placed into plants, raising the possibility of even wider ramifications in the future.

What can you do? Firstly be careful with your meal choices. If you have the time and energy you could lobby the government via talk back radio and your Federal parliamentarian.