Atypical scrapie in single NZ sheep
Contrary to what the New Zealand Herald reported tonight (this morning in NZ), the animal in question was born in NZ, not the UK, because NZ does not import sheep from the UK.
MAF Biosecurity New Zealand (MAFBNZ) and the New Zealand Food Safety Authority (NZFSA) today confirmed that a series of New Zealand and European laboratory tests on a single New Zealand sheep brain have detected the condition atypical scrapie (also known as Nor 98).
Atypical scrapie/Nor 98 is a relatively recently discovered brain condition of sheep and goats that is quite different from the classical form of scrapie.
Neither atypical scrapie/Nor 98 nor scrapie is known to pose any risk to human health or the safety of eating meat or animal products.
MAFBNZ Principal International Adviser Dr Stuart MacDiarmid says global knowledge about atypical scrapie/Nor 98 is evolving. The widely accepted mainstream scientific view is that it occurs spontaneously or naturally in very small numbers of older sheep in all sheep populations around the world.
“This positive detection of atypical scrapie/Nor 98 in a sheep from New Zealand’s national flock reinforces that view. Every country that has conducted sufficient surveillance for atypical scrapie/Nor 98 has found it in their flocks. This includes most Scandinavian and EU countries, the UK, the USA and Canada,” he says.
The detection does not change New Zealand’s status as free from scrapie.
Dr MacDiarmid says because of this scrapie freedom status, New Zealand supplies sheep brains to the European Union for use in the development of tests for scrapie.
“The affected brain was one of a consignment of 200 brains sent for this purpose. EU-authorised tests carried out in New Zealand prior to shipment had not picked up anything unusual. However further tests in Europe and re-testing in New Zealand on different parts of the brain from the area originally tested have now established a diagnosis of atypical scrapie/Nor 98.
There is no evidence that atypical scrapie/Nor 98 can be transmitted naturally to other animals or to people, or that it in any way affects people.
"I wouldn't be happy showering under a rat"
The Manawatu Standard reports that the two flatmates are nervously awaiting the results of blood tests after they learnt the "smelly water" they had been drinking and showering in came from a tank housing a badly decomposed rat.
Having suffered bouts of diarrhoea and vomiting before becoming aware of the corpse, they still have to shower at their parents' homes and clean cooking utensils on the front lawn.
The saga began in early November when a 19-year-old resident noticed the water was "smelly" and she began feeling ill.Her mother, worried sewerage had seeped into the water pipes, contacted the council, which in turn flushed the home's pipes.
Several weeks later the shower blocked up, which eventually led to a plumber finding what was left of the large rat.
Rather than remove it, he gave instructions not to use any water until someone else did the dirty work.
The landlord said, "I can't believe they didn't ring me to say it was still there. I thought it was gone. Oh, I just feel ill. I have barely slept thinking about rats in tanks. It's just a dreadful situation, but I thought the plumber or sanitisers had dealt with it."
Cocktail sausages sicken kids, need to be reheated
Canterbury’s Medical Officer of Health, Dr Ramon Pink, says cocktail sausages (also known as cheerios or saveloys) should be heated before they are eaten and should not be offered cold to children at butcher’s shops or delicatessens.
The cocktail sausages were given to most of the children over the counter – a common practice which has been associated with outbreaks of salmonella and campylobacter in Christchurch in the past.
While cocktail sausages are cooked during their preparation they are not ready-to-eat foods. Further heating before eating is required to destroy any bacteria that may have contaminated them after they were made.
Proper handwashing still requires proper tools
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It's a message that goes unheeded -- at home and abroad.Research published in the New Zealand Medical Journal found almost 20 percent of men, and 8 percent of women didn't wash their hands after going to the toilet.
But what's worse says New Zealand Public Health Association (PHA) Director Dr Gay Keating is that some schools have appalling washroom facilities, and it is often not possible for students to wash and dry their hands properly – even if they want to.
"Sometimes there is no soap, let alone hot water, and children are expected to wash their hands in freezing water, even in the middle of winter. There may be no paper towels, or hand dryers.
"This is a great disincentive to proper hand washing, and pupils who do not wash their hands properly are at greater risk of contracting illnesses themselves, or passing on bugs. They then have to have days off school, which recent educational research has shown often leads to them falling behind in school work. …
“Hand-hygiene is basic to maintaining good health.”
Dr Keating says all schools should provide pupils with soap, warm water and hand-drying facilities.
